


Home Sweet Home

by Noof44



Category: Longmire (TV), Walt Longmire Mysteries - Craig Johnson
Genre: Adventure & Romance, F/M, Family, Love, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-01
Updated: 2019-03-12
Packaged: 2019-04-16 15:20:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 27,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14167785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Noof44/pseuds/Noof44
Summary: Audrie Davis had to pull her life together not only for her, but for her six year old daughter, Daisy, after a rough breakup with Daisy's father. To make sure their do-over is an entirely new start she chose to pack up her car and move herself and her little Daisy-Girl away from the city to Absaroka county. After being left stranded with a blown tire, no phone, and limited money, she was beyond thankful for Good Samaritans. Who knew guardian angels drove old GMC trucks?





	1. The Good Samaritan

When Audrie moved out west to start a new life with the love of her life she only had one goal; give the little blonde goofball that lay sleeping across the back seat of her beat up Honda a better chance at happiness. Sure, tears were shed when she had to leave her friends and school, and of course the questions were asked "why" and "can we please stay, mommy?", but in the end they packed everything from their old life into her car and embarked on the greatest of all road trips.

Miles were spent with little bare feet hanging out the window, singing along to the radio and playing highway games. More miles were passed by telling stories and imagining what their new home would be like.  Eventually the landscape changed, the air smelled new, and Daisy was reading road signs.

"Ab-sa-row-kuh! Mommy, we're almost there!"

"Almost Daisy-girl!"

"Where at in Absaroka?"

The once sleepy-headed child was now full of energy with her face glued to the window, pointing out every new thing she saw in excitement.

"Look for signs that say Durant. We're gonna live there."

"Spell it?"

"D-u-r-a-n-t."

"Ok! I'll keep watch!"

Daisy sat on her knees with her face pressed against the window, one hand on either side of her head watching for road signs. Audrie kept her eyes on the road and smiled against her inner fears and praying a short prayer to whoever would listen.

"Please let this be our happy ending. Just let everything be ok,"

Unfortunately, within seconds of her prayer the car jerked violently, Daisy screamed, and their car was off the road. Audrie was experienced enough to know how to handle a blown tire but the experience was no less traumatic. It was worse for Daisy, who was sure that they nearly just died.

Audrie pulled her six-year-old angel into her lap across the front seat and hushed her tears, convincing her that she was safe and that they weren't in any danger. Once Daisy had calmed down the two left the car to try and change the tire and get back to their journey.

From Audrie's point of view her prayer must have been a curse. Things couldn’t be farther from okay. She didn't have a spare tire in her car, and when she left her ex he took her phone since the contract was in his name.

"Ok, Daisy-girl. I'm gonna keep trying, go wait in the car."

Daisy didn't argue, because she knew that her mommy was upset and didn't want her to see it. She kept her from knowing how often she had seen her cry over the last few months. Mommy didn't smile as much anymore, and she never played outside with her anymore. At first, she thought she was mad at her for something, but now she understood that she was mad at Daddy, not Daisy-girl.

While Daisy sat in the front seat watching clouds drift by through the windshield, Audrie sat in the grass leaning against her car and cried hushed tears. She was stranded, she had no way of calling for help, and even if she could call a tow truck, she couldn't afford it. She was at a loss, and this damned tire was her breaking point.

She didn't notice the old green pickup stop and pull over behind her car until she heard footsteps rapidly approaching her. The sun was behind him, making him a silhouette surrounded by the glow of sunset. She couldn't see what he looked like, but his voice was like a deep melody calming her frustrated tears.

Who knew guardian angels drove old GMC trucks?

"Are you hurt?"

His question was urgent, but calm as he knelt in front of her. She took a deep breath and shook her head in the way most distraught women did to dispel too many chaotic thoughts. "I'm fine," she sighed. She glanced back at the rear window of her car just in time to see the top of Daisy's head duck down to pretend she hadn't been watching the stranger too.

"Our tire blew out. I kept the car under control, but we can't get back onto the road without a new tire. I'm just trying to figure everything out," she explained. He extended his hand in a silent offer to help her back to her feet and looked down at the damaged tire.  After a few minutes evaluating the extent of the damaged he stood and asked, "Have you called anyone to help?"

"No," she frowned awkwardly, "I don't have my phone with me."

"You may use mine," he offered immediately. The only one who hesitated as he removed his phone from his pocket was Audrie.

"It's ok, really. I'll… I'll figure it out. Thank you."

She knew at once that he saw right through her smile. What made things worse was the unmistakable sound of her Honda's passenger door opening and closing.

"Hey, Mommy, can I have some chips?"

"Not now, Daisy-girl. Get back in the car," Though this man gave Audrie no sense of threat, she couldn't be too careful. If anything happened to that barefooted blonde that stood just behind him, Audrie knew her life would end.

"But Mommy, I'm hungry," Daisy pouted stubbornly, "you promised we would get food soon."

Audrie looked up at the stranger, still holding his phone out for her, and sighed a quick apology before kneeling to be on her daughter's level. "Sweetheart, I know I promised. I didn't expect our car to break. When we went off the road it was because the tire blew out. That means it kind of popped, like a balloon. I promise you, Mommy is working on it.

"Don't eat anymore chips. In Mommy's purse are some granola bars, you can have one of those. The one with brown on the wrapper is chocolate chip, orange wrappers are peanut butter."

Daisy didn't seem to hear her as she looked over her shoulder to the strange man that watched them. "Is that man gonna help us?"

"Yes, I intend to if there is anything I am able to do," he nodded before she had the chance to answer. Audrie looked back at him and sighed. The sun was setting quickly, and she didn't like the idea of having her daughter sleep in a car on the side of the road. Seeing no other choices, she relented and nodded her thanks and motioned for her daughter to climb back into the car while they worked things out.

"Would you like me to call a tow company?"

She avoided his gaze while answering a soft, "No thank you."

Sensing her apprehension through her awkwardness he leaned coolly against the hood of his truck and returned his phone to its place securely in his pocket. "What is your name? I am Henry," he introduced casually.

"Audrie. The hungry tiny in the car is my daughter, Daisy."

"If you do not wish to call a towing company, allow me to drive you and your daughter somewhere. I would not feel comfortable leaving the two of you on the side of the road for the night."

"Thank you, Henry. If you know of any restaurants in the area we could eat at, I would appreciate the ride. I promised Daisy we would go out to dinner tonight, but things just don't seem to want to work in my favor lately."

Henry gave a warm smile in reply and nodded, "I do know of somewhere in the area." The low chuckle in his voice made her smile despite the bad luck she seemed to have been experiencing. She was at a loss for reply, but the silence wasn't awkward. Thankfully, Henry seemed content with comfortable silences and not one to need to fill every pause with small talk.

"I'll get Daisy, and a few of our things to bring with us, if you have room for a couple of bags?"

Henry motioned over his shoulder to the bed of his truck. "I do not believe it will rain, I have room," he nodded firmly. He patiently waited as she opened the back door of her old car and playfully pulled Daisy's hair as she sat in the front seat. He couldn't hear their conversation but with the interior lights on he could see their interaction through the rear window. It was clear that Audrie was a devoted mother. Daisy was her world, and he saw a love in her eyes that spoke volumes.

Daisy's shrill laughter echoed through the quiet countryside as Audrie pulled her into the back seat and tickled her feet. The tickling was an attempt to wrestle some shoes onto those bare toes of hers but both mother and daughter knew the shoes wouldn't last long. As soon as Daisy's shoes were secured to her feet she hopped out of the car and ran over to Henry with a large stuffed bunny in her arms. Audrie appeared shortly after with a duffle bag and one of Daisy's sweatshirts.

"Hi, Henry! This is Zi-Zi," Daisy shouted. Her excitement caused the worn rabbit's head to flop flimsily as she held it up for him to see.

"Hello, Zi-Zi, it is nice to meet you," Henry nodded and to Aurdie's surprise he knelt and formally shook the stuffed animal's paw before standing again. Immediately he had earned some of her respect for treating such an important part of her daughter's life with such kindness. Zi-Zi was real to Daisy, and for him to treat the stuffed animal the same way her daughter would meant a lot to Audrie.

               Henry opened the passenger door of his truck for Audrie, Daisy, and Zi-Zi and placed their bags securely in the bed while Audrie got her daughter situated. Audrie sat in the middle beside Henry as he drove, while Daisy sat in the passenger seat to be sure she had a proper seat belt. While both adults were silent for most of the drive, Daisy had plenty to say to Zi-Zi.  
  
"See? See? We're gonna live here now! Look! Those people have HORSES! Mommy! Mommy look, real horses! Are there real cowboys at our new town?!"

"Probably, Daisy-Girl," Audrie laughed

Most of the ride after that was quiet. Audrie couldn’t think of much to say to her rescuer, and Daisy fell asleep shortly after her exciting discovery of horses. Before long Audrie was struggling to avoid nodding off herself. She managed to stay awake but mainly credited the radio for keeping her interest.

Finally, Henry pulled into a dirt parking lot outside a building that looked more bar than restaurant. Not only that, but it was clearly closed without a single car in sight or light on in the vicinity, but when she voiced her concern Henry merely smiled and assured “I am familiar with the owner, it is not a problem,” and unlocked the doors.

Inside, the Red Pony was definitely more bar than family restaurant, but she was thankful for a place to find a meal for Daisy nonetheless. Henry went around turning on lights and pulling chairs from a table for them to sit, making sure to make room for Zi-Zi at their table as well before taking their order.

“I want fries! With macaroni and cheeses on top!”

Daisy’s order earned a chuckle from their savior-turned-waiter but a sigh from her mother. “Sweetheart, you know that’s home food,” she admonished softly and turned her attention to Henry before ordering, “We’ll be happy splitting a meal. Whatever’s easiest for you is fine.”

“I will be right back, then,” he nodded confidently and disappeared into the kitchen. Every so often he would look out to be sure his guests were comfortable. Audrie did a fantastic job entertaining her daughter by playing tick-tack-toe on a napkin, rock-paper-scissors, and I-Spy together until he brought plates of food for them.

To Audrie’s surprise and Daisy’s glee, one plate was an order of fries topped with macaroni and cheese. A small plate was set in front of Zi-Zi with salad, an appropriate meal for rabbits, Henry deemed. Audrie was given a burger and fries, and once the plates were set out he brought glasses of iced tea for everyone, including Zi-Zi.

Henry busied himself with cleaning the kitchen from cooking while his guests ate and only returned when he noticed Audrie standing in the doorway of the kitchen, holding their dishes, while Daisy played with Zi-Zi at their table.

“I can help you clean up, if you want. I feel bad, you unlocking just to cook for us. Are you sure your boss won’t be mad at you? I’d hate if you got in trouble for helping us.”

Henry shook his head with a quiet chuckle and took the dishes from her to be washed. When she tried to pay for the meal he assured her it was on the house and called the local sheriff’s office to be sure her car wouldn’t be towed and ticketed while she looked for a place to stay.  By the time she found an affordable motel, Daisy was sound asleep curled up under the table using Zi-Zi for a pillow.

Henry offered to drive them again, and Audrie graciously accepted before scooping her sleeping angel from the floor and carrying her to his truck. Daisy barely stirred as Audrie maneuvered herself into the passenger seat, thankful that Henry was gentleman enough to handle the door for them. This time they drove in silence, not wanting to wake Daisy by talking or playing the radio.

He opened the door for her after they pulled into the parking lot and carried their things so that Audrie could carry Daisy. The room was small and only had one full size bed, but Audrie assured it was enough and that they would be fine for the time being.

He didn’t leave until she had finished checking in and he was able to leave their bags safely in their room for her. Audrie’s priority was to get Daisy into bed before she even thought about saying goodbye to Henry, and quickly got to work turning down the bed with one hand while supporting her six-year-old with the other. As soon as she was able she carefully laid her down and slipped off her daughter’s sandals and set them aside before covering her with the stiff hotel blankets and tucking Zi-Zi under her arm. Immediately, Daisy snuggled down while muttering something inaudible before settling to sleep again.

“Goodnight, Daisy-girl,” Audrie cooed, and finally turned to see Henry still leaning in the doorway.

“I can’t thank you enough, for stopping, for dinner, for driving us here. I’m so sorry if we’ve been an inconvenience, but you’ve really been our hero tonight. I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t stopped.”

“You are welcome,” he nodded and handed her a menu for the Red Pony, “I have written my personal number as well. If you need anything do not hesitate to call. A towing company will pick up your car and bring it to a mechanic in town at no cost to you; you will be able to collect your things there.”

Audrie had tears in her eyes as she thanked him again and took the menu. He stayed outside her door until he heard the deadbolts latch and she watched through the window as he drove off before she double checked locks on the windows and the door one last time before crawling into bed beside Daisy, holding her the same way she held Zi-Zi.

“We’ll be home soon, baby girl, I promise,” she whispered and silently cried herself to sleep with her angel in her arms, praying one last time for everything to be okay.


	2. Job Offers and Thank You Cards

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Audrie and Daisy embark on their first adventurous day in Durant to collect their car and explore the town so Audrie can find a job to support them.

Audrie and Daisy both slept late the morning after their eventful first night in Durant. Daisy was still sound asleep when Audrie groggily sat up to check the time. 10:18. She hadn’t expected to sleep so late but considering how the previous days had gone she wasn’t surprised. What surprised her was that Daisy was still sound asleep.

Not one to waste an opportunity Audrie slid out of bed without disturbing the six-year-old sleepyhead and made her way to the tiny bathroom that came with her room. No bathtub, that would be a problem for Daisy, but since she had been born Audrie had become a master of quick showering. She left the bathroom door open to listen for her daughter and turned the water as hot as she could handle.

She glanced at the clock after dressing in yesterday’s clothes; everything she had put into that duffle bag the night before was for Daisy. 10:26, not bad.

She sat on the floor beside the bed so that she was face to face with that sleeping little girl and started to play with her hair to pull her out of her sleepy dreamland.

“Good morning, sunny Daisy-girl, the sun came visit you! Rise and shine, mama’s baby, wake up so we can say ‘I love you,’” she sang softly when she began to stir. Audrie woke Daisy with that little song as often as she could. Every weekend adventure began with that song. Every morning before school.

School. Audrie would have to register Daisy for school as soon as possible to try and get some ‘normal’ back in her daughter’s life, but that was a bridge she would have to cross later. First priority was to get breakfast. Then their car and belongings, and then Audrie planned to put as many applications in for work as she could manage.

She styled both of their hair in matching messy buns and changed Daisy into some clean clothes before grabbing her purse and keys and leading her daughter out the door for their first big adventure in their new home.

“Are we walking all the way to our new town?” Daisy whined as they started down the road. The motel wasn’t far from Durant, but in a six-year-old’s view it was across the planet.

“Yep, now start steppin’, Daisy-girl,” Audrie laughed and took her hand to playfully pull her along.

Half of the journey was skipping together or trying to out-do each other’s silly walks. By the time they made it to town both Audrie and Daisy were exhausted but refusing to let the other know just how tired they were. Audrie was stubborn by nature and Daisy surely took after her mother.

Luckily one of the first buildings they came to was a little café that served breakfast all day. Pancakes were a must, and Daisy couldn’t be happier with the whipped cream smiley face that came with hers.

Audrie loved the sight of her little girl, smiling ear to ear, whipped cream on half her face, giggling about everything she saw. Daisy was a silly girl. She loved to tell stories and make playdough sculptures that inevitably mixed the colors and were left out to dry and harden. Audrie’s dresser at home was well-decorated with her statues. Horseback riding monsters, bird-princesses, sports cars with wings, and the only statues that made it to Durant, Daisy and Mommy holding hands. Daisy would sing to any song that came on the radio, whether she knew the words or not. She planned on adopting a small zoo of animals in their new house and refused to believe any of Audrie’s reasons why they couldn’t. She was going to grow up and be a dancer/space-pilot/princess/mommy, all one occupation in her mind.

It always took a real hurt to bring tears to her eyes. She was stubborn and no matter how badly an injury hurt she tried to hold her tears back, but heartache, that was something she never had a resistance to. When Audrie had to explain through bloodshot eyes and a throat raw from her own crying, that Daddy was not coming home anymore, she cried the night through and Audrie kept her home from school the following day just so she could get some sleep. Moving away from her friends and school left her under the table with Zi-Zi, sobbing and begging to stay. She was glad to see Daisy smiling in their new town. It gave her hope that they could find a happy, peaceful life on their own.

After breakfast the two walked hand-in-hand to the mechanic’s shop to find out if she could afford to fix the car. Audrie had saved enough money to cover first and last month’s rent on a small trailer for the two of them, one extra month’s rent in case it took too long to get a job, and Daisy’s school registration. She had a few hundred put back for groceries, but expected to be cooking rice, pasta, and ground beef for a while until they were a little more comfortable. She did not expect to pay a mechanic to replace her blown tire. She prayed it wouldn’t put too much of a dent in her savings.

“A horse and a flea and three blind mice  
Sat on a tombstone shooting dice,  
The horse he slipped and fell on the flea,   
‘Whoops,’ said the flea, ‘there's a horse on me!’”

Daisy’s little voice rang happily as she sang beside Audrie, skipping in time and swinging their hands to encourage her mother to join.

“Boom, boom ain’t it great to be crazy?  
Boom, boom ain’t it great to be crazy?  
Silly and foolish the whole day through,  
Boom, boom ain’t it great to be crazy?”

They sang together and Audrie joined her daughter in skipping until they reached the mechanic’s. Daisy sat quietly in the two-chair lobby while Audrie paced by the counter. Two-hundred dollars wasn’t too much, but it was enough to cause stress. She had brought just over three-thousand dollars in cash to start their new life. It was all she had left in her savings, but she hoped it was enough to get started until she found a job. She hadn’t planned on spending two-hundred the first day, but it was a necessary evil.

At least the man at the counter was supportive, and in the end gave her a fifty-dollar discount as a “welcome to Durant gift”.

“All right, Daisy-girl, Mommy’s got to talk to a few people to try and get a job here, so I can afford to spoil you!” Audrie announced as she drove aimlessly down main street. Daisy giggled and opened a bag of chips from the floorboard to snack on while they began the grand job hunt. Audrie stopped at every café, general store, gas station, and any other business she came across to inquire for any possible openings. It wasn’t a very hope inspiring venture, but she was determined that at least one of the businesses in Durant would hire her. She would try again after they were settled into their trailer.

By the time they finished their little adventure the sun was setting, and both were starving.

 “Well, Daisy-Girl, we job hunted right through lunch! What do you want for dinner?”

Daisy hesitated, shrugged, and looked out the window to watch the new landscapes roll by. Audrie wondered if they would ever adjust to being surrounded by so much openness. “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?!” Audrie asked dramatically as she made her way back to their hotel, “How about… pizza party?”

Audrie laughed as Daisy lit up with excitement and started naming all her favorite toppings. By the time they pulled into the parking lot they had dreamed up the perfect pizza but flashing lights on sheriff’s department vehicles left Audrie apprehensive to let Daisy out of the car.

She left the car running and had Daisy lock herself in and wait for her to get back while she asked the office what was going on. She wasn’t in line of sight of the car, but they had practiced what to do in the event strangers come knocking while she waited, and she was confident she could count on her daughter to be safe for the few minutes it took to check the office.

She waited for nearly ten minutes without finding anyone to answer her questions and decided to go back to the car to find an older man in a sheriff’s uniform hunched over Daisy’s window trying to talk to her. She could see that Daisy had cracked the window just barely enough for them to hear each other but he wasn’t having much luck. Good girl, she thought, you stay right where you are.

“Is everything okay?” she demanded harshly, stepping between the sheriff and her daughter’s door.

“Is this your daughter?”

“Is everything okay?” she questioned again, nodding toward the multiple cars and deputies behind them.

“Well, we’ve been having a problem with drug deals lately. Haven’t been able to track down the dealers; they move around too much. It just so happens tonight was our lucky night and we tracked one of their customers here and made our bust.” His demeanor wasn’t like other officers she had dealt with, but he seemed just as cocky. Maybe it was the obvious years of experience under that hat of his, or maybe it was his attempted humor, but his answer didn’t leave her feeling any safer.

“Which room are you staying in?” He had noticed their luggage that filled the back seat of her car.

“206.”

“Just passing through?”

“Moving here, actually. Daisy and I are starting over in a little trailer park not far from town. We’ve just had a rough start, that’s all.”

The sheriff nodded and shifted his weight to his other foot. “Blown tire. I got the call last night requesting we not ticket it, because your car wasn’t abandoned on the side of the road.”

“I appreciate it. We’re on a tight budget right now until I get us more set up,”

Before she could finish her reply one of the apprehended suspects broke free through the back door of the car he had been sitting in. Clearly the little switch to prevent the doors from being opened from the inside hadn’t been flipped. “Hey! Stop! Get on the ground!” one of the deputies screamed as she chased him down, her blonde hair whizzing behind her as she threw her body on top of his and sent them both crashing to the unforgiving parking lot.

“Shit, Walt, are you gonna help me or not?”

“Language, Vic, there are children present,” the sheriff jokingly admonished before nodding approvingly, “I think you’ve got it under control. Good job.”

He turned his attention back to Audrie who had her eyes locked on the wrestling match in front of her car. Daisy was behind her, half in the floorboard, half watching over the dash with the wide eyes of a frightened child. “This might take a while to get cleared up. You might want to change your plans from pizza to going out for dinner tonight. The Red Pony isn’t too far from here, do you know how to get there?”

“I’m pretty sure that’s a bar. The guy who helped us last night unlocked it to make us dinner, but I really don’t want to bother the staff by bringing in a six-year-old. We’ll figure something out.” She argued, frustration evident as she sighed and pushed imaginary stray hair out of her face.

“Nonsense. I’ll lead you there. We’ll tell Henry it’s official police business; not that he’d have any problems with it.” Walt didn’t leave room for discussion and walked away to his truck.  When Audrie knocked to get back into her car Daisy unlocked without hesitation and quickly crawled into her lap.

“Well, Daisy-Girl, change of plans. We’re not going to have pizza tonight, but we’ll get some good burgers instead, ok?”

“Are we going to see Henry again?” she asked excitedly.

“Probably, if he’s working, why?”

“I made him a picture to say thank you for helping us! I wanna give it to him!” and with that she scrambled back into her own seat to pull the drawing out of the glove box. It showed their car broken down on the side of the road, Henry’s truck behind them, and Daisy and Audrie as elaborate stick figures standing on their car. Henry was standing on his truck, an equally elaborate stick figure, with exaggerated hair and two large plates of food in his hands.

“He’ll love it.” Audrie laughed and followed the sheriff down the road.

Walt led Audrie and Daisy through the doors of the Red Pony. Henry was casually leaned against the bar, drying freshly washed glasses and watching the few tables of guests. There couldn’t have been more than four people in the bar that night. A slow night for sure.

“Hello, Walt, what can I get you?” he greeted but was dismissed as Walt stepped aside to reveal the ladies behind him.

“We had some commotion at their hotel tonight. Instead of staying in for pizza I suggested they come here for dinner to wait it out.”

Henry nodded and collected a menu for Audrie and Daisy and led them to a table near the corner of the room. Before he could leave Daisy caught his wrist with both hands and smiled her biggest smile, “I made you a present, Henry!”

“Oh, did you?” he asked. His smile was genuine as he watched Daisy pull the folded paper from her shoe where she had chosen to hide it.

“See? Here’s me, and Mommy, and our broken tire, and here’s you and your truck!”

“Oh, that is a wonderful work of art, may I ask what I am holding?”

“Those are plates of food because you’re a really good cook!” she squeaked loudly, earning laughter from the other patrons. Henry silenced them with a stern warning glance before returning his smile and kneeling to shake Daisy’s hand.

“Thank you, Daisy, I will hang it behind the bar for everyone to see.”

Daisy was on cloud nine and didn’t care what Audrie ordered for dinner. True to his word Henry had already taped the picture above the register with a little note listing the date. When the plates were brought out a generous serving of macaroni and cheese was on top of her fries. Daisy practically screamed in excitement and hugged her thanks while Audrie laughed her apologies for her daughter’s antics. Henry didn’t seem to mind in the slightest and leaned against the wall near their table.

“How was your first day as a Durant resident?” he questioned, hoping to hear that their first day was better than their first night.

“Pretty great, right Daisy-Girl?” Daisy nodded with a mouthful of her favorite fries, “We got breakfast together, and then got our car back. The mechanic was so sweet and gave me a discount as a welcome to town gift. Then we went job hunting and now we’re here.”

“Any success?”

“Not… not quite. I’m gonna try again when we’re settled into our new place, but for not having no proof of address of any kind, no official mailing address, and no phone, employers aren’t exactly jumping at the chance to hire me.” She tried to joke but her worry was evident in her tone.

“I believe I have an opening here, if you are interested.”

His offer was honest and Audrie could tell without looking that Daisy was listening hard, while pretending to ignore them entirely. She had so many concerns and questions that she sat silently staring at her burger, arguing with the voice, or possibly voices, in her head. She had no one in town to watch Daisy during night shifts, and she knew that the Red Pony wasn’t a breakfast venue so there wasn’t much chance of morning shifts during school. But what choice did she have? She needed a job, and one was literally being offered right to her.

“If I take up your offer, would it be alright if I brought Daisy? She’d be at a table the whole time, she has an activity bag for long waits to keep her occupied. I don’t have anyone to watch her yet; I won’t leave her with someone I don’t know.”

“I have an office she can wait in. The door is visible from the bar; you will be able to see her through your shift.”

Audrie took a deep breath and nodded, “Alright,” she shook Henry’s outstretched hand and returned his smile, “I’ll pay you back for helping us so much, somehow. Do you like baked goods? I’m good at cakes.”

Henry laughed and moved to start his rounds checking in on his patrons, “You do not need to repay me. I will see you in a week for your first shift. Take some time to settle in.”

“We’re going to have to make him another ‘thank you’ card, Daisy-Girl.” She nodded over her meal as they ate together.

“With glitter on it?” she asked excitedly.

“Oh, glitter is a necessity.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, feedback is appreciated! Thank you for reading! <3


	3. The First Days are the Scariest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Don't be afraid to comment, I love hearing from you!

“And… that’s out last box! Daisy-Girl, we officially live here!” Audrie announced proudly after dropping the final box from their car into their new trailer. She had checked in with the park that morning and filled out all the necessary paperwork while Daisy got to work on Henry’s ‘thank you for giving my mommy a job’ card.

Their new home was certainly a downgrade from their old apartment, but both were excited to be moved in. It was a quaint, two-bedroom trailer with all necessary comforts. Audrie could reach the refrigerator, stove, and sink all while standing in one place. The bathroom had a working shower, which was great because the bathtub was only big enough for Daisy to use properly. Luckily, Audrie had learned to live without the luxury of hot baths once Daisy had been born. Every room, aside from the kitchen and bathroom, had a stiff gray carpet that felt more like sandpaper than anything else, but it was clean, and this was home.

The first things to be unpacked were the playdough figurines Daisy had made. So many things had to be left behind when they moved, but the ones that made the move with them were considered sacred in their new home. They sat in a place of honor, on the only shelf in they had.

Audrie rolled all the blankets and pillows she had brought into a nice little floor bed for Daisy in her new room. She would start shopping for furniture as soon as she was able, but for now Daisy could have all the bedding. Audrie kept a throw blanket and travel pillow for herself. With any luck someone would have a yard sale soon and she could find some affordable things to fill their home. Maybe someone would throw out a perfectly good couch. She wasn’t too proud to dumpster dive, if it was clean.

As soon as their home was as put together as it could be, Audrie and Daisy hopped back into their car to drive back to town for a grocery shopping adventure. Daisy always hated grocery shopping and would either drag her feet and whine the entire time, or ride in the cart and whine the entire time. To combat this, Audrie always gave her a small grocery list of her own with three or four items for her to be responsible for, and a wallet with enough money to cover her own transaction in line. This way Daisy felt like she was doing more than just following Mommy around the store all day.

“Okay Daisy-Girl, what’s on your list?” Audrie asked as they walked together through the town grocery. Daisy carried a basket beside her while she pushed a cart. Before too long Daisy’s basket would be in Audrie’s cart until they went to checkout and she knew it.

“N-oo-d…noo…” Daisy tried sounding out the firs word on her grocery list but Audrie could read her frustration.

“Noodles?”

“Noodles! We need noodles.”

“Okay Daisy-Girl, let’s find the noodle isle.”

It had been so long since Audrie had moved to a new town she had almost forgotten what it was like to have to learn a new grocery store. The little things we take for granted, she thought with a hidden roll of her eyes. It seemed like the little things were all it took anymore to frustrate Audrie to no end.

Maybe things would slow down, and she wouldn’t feel so drained when they settled into their new lives.

Just like she had planned, they had bought enough rice, pasta, and ground beef to make a menu of meals for two weeks. Daisy got to pick some vegetables and fruits for sides and breakfasts, but Audrie couldn’t afford the variety she was used to, and Daisy left quite disappointed.

After the grocery store, it was time to get Daisy registered to start school the following week. She wasn’t too thrilled about starting at a new school, but after a lengthy conversation in the parking lot about how nervous Audrie was to start work at the Red Pony, they agreed that starting a new life meant doing scary things together.

Daisy stood nervously holding onto Audrie’s shirt while she filled out stacks of paperwork and provided as many proofs of identification as possible. Medical records, vaccination records, information from her previous school. The trouble was Audrie had no proof of residence. The most she could provide was paperwork from moving in that morning. It took a lot of work but eventually things were worked out enough, for Daisy’s sake, for her to start school the following Monday. Audrie would have to drive her, but that only worked out in their favor; Audrie had promised to keep driving Daisy to school just like they had before they moved.

Neither of them could wait until things slowed down living in Durant, but by the time they got home Daisy was ready for a nap while Audrie got straight to work putting groceries away and starting dinner. They didn’t own a tv anymore, but Audrie was able to bring a small radio to fill the silence of a new home for the time being and danced along to whatever music it chose to play for her while she worked. Daisy pulled pillows from her room to sit on and put down a blanket, so their dinner could be picnic style on the floor.

“Mommy, you should ask Henry to teach you how to cook like him.” Daisy suggested that night as they Audrie served dinner. They sat together on the floor against the wall, surrounded by unpacked boxes in a living room lit by one lamp.

“Excuse me?” she sputtered, half shocked and amused, and secretly offended that after two meals her daughter preferred his cooking to her own.

Daisy looked up from her casserole and smiled. “You like to cook, and Henry likes to cook. He makes yummy burgers and you make dinner-cakes like this one! You should ask Henry to teach you how to make burgers like his, so we can have them for home food too. Then he can learn how to make dinner-cakes and sell those too!”

“Well, that dinner-cake is called a casserole. And if he taught everyone how to make burgers like him then what reason would anyone have to go to the Red Pony?”

Daisy thought for a minute and shrugged, “Ask him to teach you, but no one else.”

The seriousness of her answer left Audrie laughing harder than she had laughed in a long time. Maybe it was the exhaustion of moving to a new town and starting a new life. Maybe it was the dimly lit living room, and their floor-banquet.  Whatever it was that caused her to find such humor in the moment, it was a blessing in an otherwise stressful time and she was thankful.

The rest of the night was spent dancing and singing together to the radio. It was warm enough out to open all the windows and let fresh air fill their home. Anyone in the park could see their little housewarming party through the bare windows, and Audrie was sure dogs would start barking from their singing before long, but what better way was there to spend their first night in their new home?

Audrie kept the rest of the week as easygoing as possible. The closer they got to the weekend the more nervous Daisy got for starting school, and Audrie was secretly terrified to start work at the Red Pony that same day. Most of their time was spent playing in the front room or making posters of how they planned to decorate the house.  Daisy was set on owning a pink couch with blue stripes. Audrie tried to convince her that a find like that wasn’t going to be easy and hoped she could settle on a rug of similar design.

There were so many things Audrie had not considered when moving and she was quickly realizing that furniture was a massive thing that hadn’t been considered.  While Daisy made dream-laced drawings of her ideal living space, Audrie was making a list of more and more furniture needs as Daisy named them.

“And this one, Mommy, you get a great big bed, with lots of pillows and yellow blankets!”

Not this time, Daisy-Girl, she thought while admiring the artwork, Mommy will be sleeping on the floor for a while. But what came out was, “Yellow blankets! I love yellow!”

When the day finally came Audrie helped Daisy change clothes at least seven times before it was time to leave. The final result was Daisy’s favorite jeans, and one of Audrie’s favorite shirts tied in the back to fit better. It wasn’t Audrie’s idea of ‘first day of school’ worthy, but the shirt made her daughter feel more secure going to a new school. Who was she to take that away? If she could squeeze into one of Daisy’s shirts for her first shift, she probably would have done the same.

The drive to school was shorter than Daisy would have liked. The building was daunting and as they walked together into the office her grip on Audrie’s hand turned white-knuckle. When they reached the classroom to meet her new teacher and class Daisy was near tears and refused to step through the door. The principal stood patiently while Audrie knelt to pep talk her daughter.

The teacher had set up a buddy system to help her adjust to the class. Each activity she would do would be done with a volunteer classmate to be her friend. Audrie was confident that by the end of the day Daisy would have endless exciting stories to tell, and several new friends to look forward to seeing again.

That didn’t make her departure from the school any less of a struggle. She only drove a short way from the school before she had to pull over. She sat with her eyes closed and head back against the seat, turned the radio as high as it would go, and cried with complete abandon.

So many things were weighing down on her but leaving Daisy in that classroom and walking away without a cell phone for them to reach her in an emergency, or even a home phone, was one of the hardest things she had ever done. The tears started as she walked out of the building, but by the time it took to drive into town the weight of everything else crashed down on her.  It had been a long time since she had been alone long enough to break down.

“Hey! Hey, you alright?”

She barely heard the voice shouting, or the knocking on her window, over the radio but unfortunately it was there. She reluctantly turned the music down and rolled the window down to answer the same blonde deputy that had wrestled a drug dealer to the ground in front of her car a few days ago.

“Christ, what happened?”

“I’m fine. Long day.” Audrie’s voice came out cracked, even after clearing her throat multiple times. Her words trembled through her forced smile. Audrie was a terrible liar.

“Its not even eight-thirty,”

Audrie gave a dry laugh and turned her car off. “I know,” she nodded and tried to take a deep breath, but the closest she could manage was a shaken gasp.  The woman outside her door didn’t move and soon Audrie found everything coming out.

“We just moved here, and I thought I had enough saved up but there’s so much I didn’t think about. Our home has no furniture, we’re eating rice casseroles every night and I don’t know how long that’ll last. My baby girl just started school and cried, begging me not to leave her by herself. I start a new job tonight, and I’m terrified.

“I just wanted to get our lives sturdy, and get us standing on our feet again but damn it,”

She was crying again. Her head fell back against the seat and she shut her eyes to try and block out the tears.

“Hey, I know how hard this shit can be. I didn’t bring a kid with me, but I’ve done the while moving-out-west-change-of-pace thing. It sucks at first, but you picked a pretty good town to land in.”

She reached through the open window and unlocked the door before pulling it open. “Come on, there’s a café across the street. You look like you need coffee; I know I sure as hell do.”

Audrie was thankful for the company and laughed openly when she learned that the offered friendship was an order from the sheriff. The deputy, Vic, explained that he saw her crying when he drove past and ordered her to go and check on her.

“So, divorce?” she asked eventually over coffee and biscuits and gravy. Small town staple.

“Not really. We never married; he always said marriage was for legality and nothing else. It just made leaving easier.”

“For you or him?”

Audrie didn’t answer, and Vic didn’t pry. Instead she stirred her coffee and changed the subject. “So, tell me about this new job? Where are you working?”

“At the Red Pony. I’m not sure what I’ll be doing, yet. I’ll find out tonight, I guess.”

“Nervous?”

Audrie nodded and looked through the window to the calm that was Durant. “You’ll be fine. Henry’s a good guy; he won’t set you up for failure. What’d he say when you applied? I didn’t know he was hiring.”   
  
“I didn’t ask,” Audrie laughed, “He asked about our day when he brought our dinner over, and I told him about job hunting. I don’t have contact numbers, or anything set up yet, so it didn’t go very well. He told me he had an opening and gave me a week to settle in before starting.”

“Sounds like him.”

They finished their breakfast in silence and Vic walked Audrie back to her car with the promise that everything would be all right, and Audrie drove home to sit in the silence of her empty house and figure out the best strategy to turn a bare trailer into a home. Breakfast with Vic had been a miracle, and even though it was ordered at first, she felt like she had made a genuine friend. She hoped that luck would continue into her daunting shift at the Red Pony.

She couldn’t decide if she preferred music or silence on the way to pick Daisy up from school. She ended up half an hour early and waited in the car, imagining all the pep talks her mother had given her as a teenager looking for her first job. Interview advice, first day of work advice. “If you don’t feel like you can do it, then pretend you do. Put on a show. Act like you’re the most confidently skilled person in the room! They’ll believe it and eventually you will too.”

Audrie would have given anything to be able to call her mother for advice before this job, too, but she knew it would be the same words of encouragement.

 Daisy was as excited as could be when she ran to Audrie’s waiting arms after school. Her teacher was there to walk her out to the parent-pickup line to give the report on her day. Just as expected, Daisy had made several friends, and a very successful first day of school. Relief filled Audrie to know that her daughter’s day had been a good one. With one last hug to her teacher Daisy hopped into the car to ride home, warm up some of last night’s casserole, and get ready to go to the Red Pony.

Audrie helped Daisy pick her outfit for her first day of school, and she deemed it only fair that she got to help pick Mommy’s clothes for her first day of work. This left Audrie in a pair of white jeans, and Daisy’s favorite shirt from her wardrobe, a bright yellow t-shirt with blue flowers and butterflies printed all over.

It wasn’t the worst thing she could have worn, and she had to admit the outfit did look nice together. Daisy finished the look with a bracelet she had made from pipe cleaners at school, and it was time for them to leave.

There were only a few cars in the parking lot when they got there. Audrie wondered if, and hoped, that was the typical crowd for a Monday night.

The few customers that were there turned and stared as Audrie and Daisy walked through the doors and awkwardly stood looking around for Henry. It felt like an hour, but they only stood for less than a minute before he walked out of the kitchen with a bin of fresh glasses for the bar.

Without saying a word, he smiled, and nodded for them to follow him back toward his office where he had turned his own desk into a place for Daisy to wait Audrie’s shift out.  “Ok, Daisy-Girl, it’s gonna be a long night, ok? I’ll need you to stay in here, but I’ll check on you, so you won’t be all by yourself,” Audrie instructed as Daisy unpacked her activity book and crayons and set Zi-Zi to sit comfortably in Henry’s chair beside her.

“Okay, Mommy. Good luck! I love you!”

Audrie giggled softly and kissed the top of her head before following Henry back to the bar. She couldn’t help the nervous wringing of her hands as she followed awkwardly two steps behind him through the short tour.

“For now, I will have you bring orders out and cleaning. It will be a slow night tonight, do not worry.”

Audrie nodded and tried to return his smile but found the act more forced than it should have been.

_“If you don’t feel like you can do it, then pretend you do.”_

“Perfect! Is there anything you need me to bring out, or somewhere you want me to start with cleaning? I don’t know your routine, but I’m sure I’ll pick it up pretty quickly.” She sure sounded confident. She hoped he was less intuitive to her acts than Daisy seemed to have been. The entire drive to the Red Pony Daisy was mimicking her pep talk from school, “You can do it, Mommy! You’re gonna have so much fun at your new job, and you’ll make friends I promise!”

Henry nodded and slid the gray plastic bin of clean glasses her way. She wasted no time finding where each style of glass belonged. His system for organizing seemed straight forward, and easy to figure out. He appreciated her willingness to work and stay busy and found himself needing to come up with things for her to do until eventually the two of them were leaned against the counter behind the bar, watching the three customers they had finish their meals. The dining area was clean, floors swept, dishes washed, dried, and put away, there was nothing else he could think of to set her to work on.

“How was Daisy’s day? If I remember, she started school his morning,” he nodded, watching her smile and tilt her stance to be able to see into his office.

Daisy was holding a crayon to Zi-Zi’s paw, making the stuffed bunny color with her. “She had a good day. It was a rough morning, but she did all right.”

“And how did you do?”

Audrie looked up and could see the smile fighting at the corners of his mouth. She could also see by his expression that he did genuinely want to know how her day had gone. “I had a rough start, but I’m all right,” she answered with a smile and settled back against the counter.

Out of habit he left her to check on the tables and collect the empty glasses and discarded plates. “What good is hiring me if you’re going to do all the work?” she teased

He smiled and shook his head and gestured toward the kitchen. “You are right. You can wash the dishes.”

Audrie shook her head and walk into the kitchen. She was too stubborn to ask him where he kept the supplies for dishes and spent a good ten minutes searching for the things she needed. He watched her for a few minutes to see if she would ask for help before being called away by a drink order.

Since Audrie was occupied with her stubborn quest to clean the dishes without having to ask for help she was in the kitchen for nearly an hour. By the time she rejoined Henry at the bar her shirt was soaked, and her hair was falling from its bun inn several places, and he was walking back to the kitchen with more dishes in hand. “I have brought you more dishes.”

Her laugh was genuine while she graciously accepted the dishes and turned back toward the kitchen, “I was hoping you’d have more for me to do!”

This time she was only in the kitchen for a few minutes before joining him at the bar. “Trouble?” he questioned, nodding to her thigh. She looked blushed and looked away, once again focusing on Daisy through the open door of his office.

She was curled up in his chair with Zi-Zi, sound asleep.

“I dropped a plate and the burger rolled down my pants. Everything in the kitchen is clean, but these pants are ruined.”

“I would not recommend wearing white again.”

“I know. Daisy picked my clothes tonight, and I didn’t argue. Next time it’ll be something a little more stain-resistant,” she shrugged and watched the last two cowboys walk through the doors and back to their trucks.

Henry followed suit and locked the door behind them before flipping a switch to turn off the neon red Pony sign above the door. “Closing time, already?” she asked, but got her answer when he began putting chairs on top of tables. She immediately followed his lead and started at the opposite side of the room, meeting him min the middle with the last table. “Well, it was a slow night and most of what we would have needed to do has already been done. It would seem we are done here,” he nodded while looking around to be sure of his statement.

“I’m gonna go check the bathrooms again, just to be sure before we call it.” Before he could reply she was already walking away. He wrapped up his business with the register while waiting for her, smiling at the artwork Daisy had gifted him a week before.

He saw her walk up behind him through the mirrored backdrop above the counter and chuckled as her exhaustion made itself apparent. “You have survived your first night at the Red Pony. Congratulations.”

“Thank you, Henry, I couldn’t have done it without you,” she laughed and gave a tired bow.

They walked together back to his office to find Daisy still sleeping in his chair curled as small as she could get. He leaned against the doorframe and watched as Audrie bent down and stroked Daisy’s hair until her eyes fluttered open. “Hey, Daisy-Girl, it’s time to go home, babe.”

Daisy’s response was a barely audible grumbling while she wrapped her arms around Audrie’s neck and fell asleep on her shoulder while she picked Zi-Zi up by the ear. She shifted Daisy’s weight to one side and reached for her bag just in time to see it move from its place before she could reach it.

She smiled and nodded her thanks and followed him back through the bar to the doors. He walked them to her car and took the keys from her hand to open the doors for her when she struggled to support Daisy and get the door open. Once she was settled in and buckled Audrie turned her attention back to the man that stood holding her daughter’s floral print backpack.

“Thank you, I would have gotten the bag out here one way or another, but I appreciate your help.”

“You are welcome. Drive safely, I will see you tomorrow. I will be here late tonight, there is a lot of paperwork that needs to be done. You look tired to be driving,”

“I can’t call you when we get home,” she interrupted with an awkward laugh, “no phone.”

Henry nodded and looked past her to the starlit horizon for a moment. “Drive safely.”

“Oh, always. I’ll see you tomorrow,” she smiled and waved as he walked back to the bar.

While she drove home he set to work reclaiming his desk and found a piece of paper with his name written in bright purple crayon. He unfolded the gift to find a drawing of him standing on top of a house with what looked like an orange dog drawn above the door. He only recognized the drawing as himself after seeing the first portrait Daisy had given him that hung above his register. He assumed the orange dog to be a red pony. The border of the drawing was elaborate flowers drawn along every edge, painted with colorful glitter. Written in the sky in children’s scrawl read ‘chank you’. He laughed out loud set the drawing aside to inspect the other folded paper that had fallen out of it.

_“Henry,  
“I can’t express my appreciation for your help. I don’t know how we would have even made it our first night here if you hadn’t been driving by and decided to stop. You didn’t have to, and you didn’t have to give us a ride, or unlock your business after closing, or cook us a free meal, but you did, and I can’t tell you how much that means to me. But the biggest thing I can’t even begin to thank you for is giving me this job. Things haven’t been the greatest lately, but you’re giving me hope that things just might be okay._

_“Thank you, from the bottom of my heart,  
“Audrie.”_


	4. Rough Nights and Rougher Weather

Audrie had found through several shifts at the Red Pony that she had a natural talent for bartending. She was quick to get the right orders out to the right tables, and very rarely had to ask Henry for help. Daisy had gotten comfortable with their routine of coming home from school, eating a quick dinner, and spending the rest of the night at the Red Pony. On slow nights she would sometimes leave the office to ask Audrie or Henry for help with spelling words, or math problems. On busy nights, she knew to stay in the office out of the way unless it was an emergency.

Audrie’s first experience with a full house, unfortunately, had left both her and her employer wondering how well her place at the Red Pony would work out. He had found early on that she wasn’t the most graceful of women to begin with, but her clumsiness was intensified tenfold when she was nervous. She had dropped more orders than she had served, tripped over a rancher’s boot and fell into another customer, nearly costing him his burger, and eventually lost her confidence and disappeared altogether.

Henry had tried his best to hide his frustration and focused on keeping his bar running as smoothly as possible during her absence, but it was evident to anyone who knew him well that he wasn’t having a good night. Covering her work without knowing where his newest employee had gone did nothing for his mood that night, especially when two tiny hands tugged at the back of his shirt when he went to set drinks out a table, startled him, and caused yet another drink to spill. It took everything he had to be patient with the little girl behind him, but his patience was wearing thin.

“Yes, Daisy?”

“Hey, Mr. Henry! My Mommy is sad!” Daisy had to shout over the noise in the room to be heard, which only made her sound all the more concerned. The crowded bar was no place for a six-year-old girl, so Henry quickly guided her back to his office before questioning her.

“Do you know where your mother is?”

His voice wasn’t as gentle as he had intended, and Daisy only bit her lip and shook her head in response, afraid he was angry with her for leaving the office when it was busy.

“She went over there. I was gonna follow her, but she told me to stay in the office. She was crying.”

Daisy was ready to cry herself, and the noise from the bar wasn’t helping. Henry sighed and pulled her into a one-armed hug before sending her back to his desk. He assured her that he would find Audrie and waited until he was confident that Daisy was all right before following her direction to the locked women’s bathroom door.

He knocked once and listened to the unmistakable sound of someone trying, and failing, to control their emotional breakdown. He knocked again and earned a quick and tearful, “Just a minute!”

With a deep sigh, Henry pulled the keys from his pocket and unlocked the door, opening just enough to announce himself. He only waited a few seconds before walking through the doorway to see Audrie leaned over the sink rinsing her face. When she looked up at him she looked absolutely defeated.

“I am _so_ sorry,” was all she could manage before another wave of tears threatened her composure. She could barely look at him and chose to focus on the wall over his shoulder instead.

“It has been a busy night, even for me,” he admitted. He chose to lean against the door, partially to keep anyone from walking in now that it was unlocked, and partially out of respect for Audrie should she need space.

Audrie tried to laugh but only managed to shake her head and exhale. She fell back against the wall with one arm wrapped around her middle while her free hand wiped the endless stream of tears from her face.

“You are do not usually struggle this much, Audrie. What is wrong?”

“I can’t keep up! You make everything seem so damn easy, and I’m like a natural disaster rolling through your bar!”

“You are not.” The chuckle in his voice was unintentional, and a mistake. “Oh, damn it,” she huffed in frustration and started crying again. She slid down the wall and balled her hair up into her fists, desperately trying to regain composure. She was dangerously close to a complete breakdown and was fighting it with everything she had but was losing fast.

“I’m just so goddamn tired! I don’t sleep anymore, I’m here all night and I’m up to get Daisy to school, and I can’t get my damn house livable, I’m still sleeping on the damn floor. She misses her dad, and I can’t fix that for her, I … I’m failing Henry and I can’t do this!”

Henry took a breath and sat beside her on the bathroom floor and pulled her hands out of her hair. “Listen to me,” he ordered firmly, “You are not failing. I do not doubt you are tired, but the fact you are still here trying proves you are not a failure. Now, what we need to do is leave this bathroom and keep trying _out there_ , in the bar, which is what we both do here for a living.”

Audrie gave Henry a sidelong glance. He stood without another word and pulled her by the hand to stand with him. “Break time is over,” he nodded with a small smile as she wiped the remainder of her tears away. She had no eyeliner left and only a few dark smears around her eyes remained of mascara. Her hair was a disaster, and she looked ready to fall over at any moment, but she forced a smile and gestured to the door.

“Lead the way, boss man.”

He had kept her in the kitchen or behind the bar for most of the night after that and closed the bar on his own after sending her and Daisy home at last call with explicit instructions for Audrie to get some sleep. As always, he carried Daisy’s bag to the car so that Audrie could carry her sleepy offspring.

As the weeks went by Audrie’s confidence at the Red Pony, and as a single mother, skyrocketed. Daisy was doing well in school and had even been invited to a sleep-over birthday party. She was reluctant to let her daughter stay the night at her friend’s house, but after meeting the other girl’s mother and with much pleading from Daisy, she was eventually convinced.

After nearly a month of living in Durant she came home from picking Daisy up from school to find a box had been delivered to their doorstep. Inside was a phone for their house, some toys and clothes for Daisy, and a gift basket of luxury items for Audrie. The included card simply read “Courtesy of the Absaroka County Sheriff’s Department.”

As soon as her phone was set up, Audrie and Daisy called the office and left a message in unison. “This is Daisy and Audrie Davis. Thank you!”   


Little by little their house began to take shape, and once Henry had chosen to schedule Audrie every other day to be sure she had time to rest, their lives quickly fell into a comfortable routine. The main struggle she had left to overcome was the isolation that came with being the newcomer to town. The parents of Daisy’s friends treated Daisy like gold, but it was out of pity. The side glances and backhanded compliments Audrie received made her confidence and willingness to participate in school functions fall to an all time low. It seemed like the rumor mill sprang to life before she could say “Hi, I’m Audrie. Daisy’s mom.”

It didn’t help that half of the furnishings Audrie had collected were yard sale finds and church donations. Castoffs from the very women she had come to want to avoid.

Audrie thought about the things that were most often said about her while she drove to pick Daisy up from school. She had tried the day before to join in the PTO meeting after school and it couldn’t have felt more disastrous.  It was clear the other moms felt she had nothing to bring to the table, and it wasn’t long until the conversation turned to concern for Daisy, and how unfortunate her situation was.

As usual Daisy landed in her arms with a running start, thrilled to tell her all about her day at school. They made it home with just enough time for a quick snack before Audrie had to race them to the Red Pony at risk of being late.

“I was wondering if you were going to be coming in,” Henry teased when they finally rushed through the door. The place was spotless, and he was the only person to be seen.

“We aren’t even late,” Audrie shot back, pointing to the clock above the bar. One minute until her shift was to start.

“You are usually early. I am surprised to see you on time.”

Audrie only shrugged and nudged Daisy to take her bag back into the office. She joined him behind the bar and looked around the empty space. It was the first time since the night they met she had seen it so empty.

“There is a storm coming. It will be a slow night,” he nodded simply into the silence. She had seen the clouds in the distance during her drive but had hoped it would pass over them.

“You think anyone will come in tonight?” She felt awkward coming in for a shift when she wasn’t needed. It wasn’t uncommon for him to close early on slow nights and he had sent her and Daisy home a couple of times due to lack of customers.

“A few might,” he nodded, “I expect we will close early tonight.”

Audrie nodded and joined him at a table. They were content to listen to the jukebox for a while until Audrie insisted on buying Daisy dinner since they hadn’t had time to eat before work. No matter how Henry argued against it, she managed to out-stubborn him. He had refused to take the money and delivered the meal to Daisy for her. While he was gone she opened the register and paid in secret.

When he returned she was back at the table waiting for him. He noticed the grin she failed to hide, so she quickly changed the subject to throw him off his interrogation.

“What are you doing next Saturday?”

“Working here, why?” the suspicion was evident in his voice, but she shook it off and pulled a small green, envelope made from construction paper out of her pocket.

“Saturday is Daisy’s birthday. I promised her we could have a small party, and she insisted I invite you too. I did warn her already that you’d probably be busy that day, so don’t feel obligated to come. We’d both love to have you there but understand if you don’t make it.”

Henry took the invitation and admired the ornate glitter and marker-drawn fairies and horses.

 “How many of these did you make?” The fact that he was genuinely impressed with the job she had done made her blush.

“I made about twenty-five. If I can’t buy her fancy things, I’ll learn to make them, damn it.”

Henry smiled and announced loud enough to be heard from his office that he would be attending the party. Daisy was thrilled and came darting out of his office to celebrate just as the power cut out. Thunder crashed with enough force to rattle the windows, only to be drowned out by Daisy’s shriek of terror.

“Do not move!” Henry ordered, but it was unclear if he was talking to Daisy, or Audrie. Audrie went to find her daughter just as he gave the order but was stopped by his hand on her arm. She reluctantly sat down and listened to Daisy’s desperate sobbing as he left the table.

It was dark enough that they could barely see, but Henry knew the layout of his bar enough to navigate without a problem. He found Daisy near the bar and picked her up effortlessly. He knew she was small, but he had expected her to weigh more than she did.

Her arms immediately wrapped around his neck and she balled the back of his shirt into her fists, still sobbing that she was scared, and wanted her mommy.

“I know, I am bringing you to her. It is only a storm, you are safe.” He consoled her while carrying her through the bar and set her in Audrie’s lap before leaving again without a word. When he came back he was carrying a lit jar candle in one hand, and Zi-Zi in the other.

“Should we go?” Audrie asked anxiously when the storm intensified.

“That would not be a good idea,” he warned calmly and set Zi-Zi in Daisy’s arms before he reclaimed his seat.  Before Audrie could ask another question, he emptied a pack of cards onto the table and shuffled. “How about we pass the time with a game of Go Fish? Dais, do you know how to play?”

“Yeah, Henry,” she sniffled, and held her hand out for her cards. The more she focused on helping him deal by keeping count for him, the more distracted she was from the storm. Audrie mouthed a quiet “thank you” over her head and picked up her hand, bouncing Daisy playfully as the game started.

Henry insisted the storm would pass quickly and when Daisy’s attention was no longer held by cards he helped to pass the time by telling stories while they waited the weather out.


	5. Fairies, Cowgirls, Princesses and Pancakes

Audrie was up with the sun Saturday morning to prepare for Daisy’s birthday. Since Daisy had been born Audrie had woken early on her birthday to decorate the house for when she woke. It was something magical that always set her little wonder up for a great day. Another tradition Audrie had created was Daisy’s special birthday pancakes. The special pancakes were something Daisy had been looking forward to, and telling anyone who would listen about, all week. 

Audrie made sure to have them finished and on the table when Daisy woke up, and so far, had managed to succeed each year to celebrate first thing in the morning together before school. However, when Audrie opened the fridge to get started her morning came to a grinding halt, and she was sorely reminded that she had forgotten to go to the grocery store after making Daisy’s birthday cake the night before.

If Daisy didn’t have pancakes for her birthday breakfast, the entire day would be ruined and se knew it. She couldn’t leave to get milk and eggs without taking Daisy and couldn’t take her without waking her and starting the day without pancakes.

She walked circles in her kitchen, biting her knuckle and trying desperately to figure out a solution to her dilemma until she reluctantly pulled the phone off its receiver and dialed Henry’s personal number. He had warned her that he wouldn’t be at the Red Pony until after Daisy’s party, and she still had the menu he had given her at the hotel her first night in Absaroka with his personal number written at the bottom for emergencies.

“Good morning, Audrie, is everything all right?”

Audrie took a breath to answer but at first could only manage a frustrated sigh. She wanted to ask how he knew it was her, but at the same time was too concerned with the at-risk breakfast to care. “Not entirely,” she managed awkwardly, “you said the other day to call you if there was anything you could do to help out today, does that offer still stand? I know I said we’d be fine, but I think I lied.”

“You are not sure if you lied,” he chuckled. She could hear him setting things down on a counter before he spoke again. “Yes, the offer still stands. What can I do for you?”

“I desperately need eggs and milk. I can’t make pancakes without it, I can’t leave to go get it without waking her up and I can’t wake her up until I have pancakes. If you can bring some over, you will literally be our birthday hero. I’ll pay you back for them and pay you gas money.” She tried to sound calm but her stressed rambling betrayed her. She was near tears, and what was worse she knew that he knew it.

“I have eggs and milk here already, you do not need to repay me. I will see you soon.”

She wanted to be angry at him for thinking her panic was funny, but if he brought eggs and milk early enough to save breakfast all would be forgiven. She busied herself with getting everything else ready to start pancakes. When that was finished she went back to decorating the house to keep herself busy. By the time Henry made it to the door Audrie had nearly run out of surfaces to tape streamers to.

She had taped a note to the door for him that read, “Don’t risk waking Daisy by knocking. Just come in.”

“Oh my god you’re my hero!” she breathed as he walked into her home. She threw her arms around him while thanking him profusely, then took the groceries form his hands and darted to the kitchen to get started.

“You are welcome. I also brought this for Daisy,” he announced, holding up a small giftbag decorated with glittery horses in every color of the rainbow.

“Oh my god, she’ll love that. Thank you so much, Henry, you really didn’t have to get her anything.”

“It was by choice, not obligation.”

Audrie smiled and got straight to work mixing several small bowls of pancake batters. She added food coloring to each bowl and started making pancakes in the shape of colorful daisy flowers. When she had finished she had a small bouquet of pancake daisies arranged perfectly on a large plate shaped like a birthday cake.

“It’s a tradition now. I started a few years ago, when she was old enough to eat pancakes. We’ve never had a birthday without special daisy cakes,” She explained while setting the table. If Henry hadn’t known better, he would have thought the chair at the table was a throne by the time she had finished adjusting streamers and balloons. Once everything was deemed acceptable, since he knew she would never consider it ‘perfect’, she went to wake the birthday girl.

She was only gone a few minutes before Daisy came bolting out of her room and into the kitchen with all the speed of an excited seven-year-old. “HIHENRYGOODMORNINGITSMYBIRTHDAY!”

Her greeting was all one breath and barely understandable as she whizzed by and slammed her body into his legs in a good morning hug. If the side of the table hadn’t been in his reach to steady himself the two would have surely ended up on the floor.

“What did I say about surprise hugs, Daisy? You have to ask people if they _want_ a hug, _before_ you hug them.”  

Daisy apologized to Henry and asked if she could hug him without letting go of his legs. He agreed with a chuckle but Audrie only gave an exasperated sigh as her little girl practically leapt from Henry’s side to the table to start her birthday breakfast fit for royalty.

As always, she disassembled the pancakes and sorted the pieces by shape and color. Leaves in one pile, flower petals in another, and so on. The syrup was ignored. Audrie knew she hated syrup on her pancakes but always had it out in case she decided she wanted to try again. Henry was entertained enough by Daisy’s rambling about birthday party plans that he hadn’t noticed Audrie disappear until she returned to hand him a plate with sun-shaped pancakes.

“To show my appreciation for saving the day,” she grinned, “it’d be rude of me not to feed you too. Have a seat!”

As much as Audrie always tried to stay out of the kitchen for anything other than cleaning while working at the Red Pony, Henry was surprised by how delicious her cooking was. He tried to compliment her skill but she quickly shied away and dismissed his kind words before changing the subject to Daisy’s birthday party.

She argued against him when he stood and carried his and Daisy’s plates to the sink to rinse them and help clean up, but only response she got from him was that he was only repaying her for breakfast. 

Since they only had a few hours before Daisy’s party was scheduled to start, Henry chose to stay as an early guest and offer to help Audrie with any leftover setup, but since she was so nervous waiting for him to bring pancake ingredients she had set everything up for the party already, and then some. So, to pass the time, much to Daisy’s shrill glee, he chose to join in playing games with Daisy.

Henry was surprisingly good at guessing Daisy’s charades, and Audrie found herself laughing harder than she had in months when he decided to take a turn and impersonate a duck. Daisy’s amused squeal was deafening, and it had been too long since she had heard that sound in her home. She almost didn’t want to interrupt their games when it came time for Daisy to get ready for the party, but motherhood came with such necessary evils.

“Okay, Daisy-girl, time to get dressed! Your party starts soon, and people will start showing up, you can’t be in your jimmy-jams when your guests get here. C’mon!”

Daisy groaned and grumbled all the way to her room, followed closely by her mother to keep her on track. Henry busied himself by admiring the different decorations Audrie had without a doubt spent hours creating. Posters of faeries and princesses covered every surface, and a construction paper mural covered an entire wall in her front room to create a fairy tale scene of forest and castle for the children to play around.

The few household decorations were all Daisy. Pictures drawn and hung on the walls served for most of the home décor. The one shelf that hung had a collection of clay statues, clearly sculpted by her tiny hands. He hoped he was never asked to guess what the figurines were, as they were slightly too abstract for his taste. He was fairly certain that two were a set, and probably of Daisy and Audrie, but they also could have been a couple of misshapen pine trees and he wasn’t confident to make that call.

“Ok Mommy! Let’s go show Henry!” Daisy’s excited cheer echoed from her room, followed by the rapid thuds of her bare feet running out to model her birthday outfit for him. It was a creation only the mind of a seven-year-old girl could have thought up.  She wore a white dress, decorated with stars and sparkling patterns created from glitter-glue and paint, a matching cowgirl hat, and home made glittery fairy wings.

“If did not know better, I would think you were a real fairy-cowgirl-princess, Daisy.” Henry’s assumption of what she was supposed to be was thankfully close enough for her as he bowed in her presence. She giggled excitedly and threw her arms around his legs before running back to her room to collect her mother.

He failed to contain his laughter when Audrie reluctantly followed her daughter into the main room. She wore a pair of white shorts, and white shirt, both painted in the same way as Daisy’s dress with added stripes, and a hat clearly decorated by her daughter’s hand, and a set of gleaming, lopsided, fairy wings.

“Not a word, Standing Bear,” She threatened awkwardly, but he had no intention of being silenced.

“You are a beautiful cowgirl-princess-bumblebee, Audrie.”

The look of shock and frustration that she gave him only made his laugh echo off her empty walls.

“Mommy is the _prettiest_ cowgirl-princess, ever!” Daisy agreed proudly and jumped to hang from his arm by both of hers as a solid knock sounded from the door.

“We’re not done here, you wait until my next shift.” She threatened Henry and straightened her wings before opening the door. The fact that she straightened her fairy wings in frustration with him only earned another chuckle as guests arrived and Daisy darted off to play with her friends.

Audrie spent most of the party tending to her guests and standing off to the side to supervise her daughter’s party. She tried to ignore the few backhanded compliments she received from other mothers, but Daisy knew something was bothering her and that only served to bother her more.

Once all the guests had arrived it was clear that Audrie’s trailer was just too small to host Daisy’s friends and their family, so she urged everyone outside to play. An extension cord ran through the kitchen window to their small radio on the ground outside to play all of Daisy’s favorite songs, so she and her friends could dance around and play in a world of their own.  Part of Sheriff Longmire’s gift to the party was a collection of folding chairs brought for their guests, and a pop-up canopy to provide shade.

“I am one-hundred percent sure you had everything to do with this, Henry,” Audrie announced while pulling a chair to form a triangle with his and the sheriff’s. She could still see the kids playing from her vantage point and was comfortable taking time to relax as long as they were in line of sight, “at any rate, thank you both. I’ll get this place set up eventually, it’s just a slow work in progress.”

“I have the honor of pulling these chairs and awnings out for all important county functions. I’d say this event fits the bill.” Sheriff Longmire nodded casually and raised his glass of Kool-Aid in a playful toast. She giggled softly but her laughter died in a troubled sigh that did not go unnoticed by the men beside her.

She ignored their questioning looks and focused her eyes on her daughter, as Henry had noticed she tended to do when she was avoiding something. It had happened several times at the Red Pony, when their conversations would turn from lighthearted and about nothing, to personal matters. Her eyes would always drift to the open door of his office to distract herself from whatever it was she was feeling.

Daisy was running around with her friends, pretending to ride horses, or more likely in her daughter’s case a unicorn. She was struggling with everything she had to keep her hat on her head while running around, her little wings sideways on her back, knocked crooked from her nonstop playing. She had blue teeth from the candy she had been eating.

“Audrie?”

“Hm?” she turned her attention back to Henry only to have him turn to his friend and continue conversation.

“It would seem she has completely tuned us out, Walt, our company is no match for Daisy,” He joked. She realized with guilt that they must have been trying to talk to her while she was distracted by her daughter. She apologized but it was brushed off like it never happened. Walt reminisced about doing the same thing when his daughter was that age, getting lost in all the little things her tiny mind would come up with. Great adventures taking place in the space of a front porch, entire oceans to sail contained in the floor of his front room. Audrie and Henry both laughed along with his tales, while Audrie contributed comparable stories from Daisy’s point of view.

They talked for quite a while before Audrie glanced back to where Daisy was playing to check on her. Her smile faded, and she quickly stood to try and see more around their small yard. Sensing something was wrong both men followed her gaze to see that every child invited was still playing but Daisy was nowhere to be found.

Henry moved before Audrie did, holding his hand on her shoulder to reassure her before he left to search for the birthday girl. Audrie wasn’t far behind, jogging to the door to search inside for her little girl while the sheriff went in the opposite direction to cover more ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Terribly sorry this took so long! This chapter has been "Almost finished" for weeks!


	6. Mud Stains and Happy Birthday

Audrie was frozen in a shocked daze. She had only turned her attention away from Daisy for a minute, how could she had disappeared? She stood paralyzed, scanning her surroundings for any sign of her little girl, afraid to move or even breathe. The other little girls were all playing by the radio where they had been before, their mothers under the canopy nursing refreshments, “admiring” the handmade party decorations.  Nothing had changed, except Daisy had vanished.

She was brought crashing back to reality by a firm hand on her shoulder, only resting there for a second, possibly two, but it said everything that there was no time to say in words.  She looked up to see Henry already walking at a brisk pace to where the children were playing. From the corner of her eye she saw the sheriff move in the opposite direction to circle around the house. She quickly followed suit, jogging to the back door of her small home in hopes to find her little girl sitting in the floor playing with dolls, or trying once again to sneak frosting from her cake in the fridge, but when she turned the corner to check the kitchen… nothing.

The bathroom was empty. Daisy’s bedroom was empty. Audrie’s bedroom was empty. The house was silent, aside from the sounds of a birthday party missing its birthday girl outside. She wanted to scream but couldn’t take a breath, and she wanted to cry but no tears would come. She ran for the front door to keep searching for Daisy, only to nearly trip over a set of legs sticking out from under her front step. Before she could say anything, she was pulled aside and stood staring wide eyed beside the sheriff to watch the scene before her, trying to make sense of it.

Henry was more than half way under the trailer and slowly inching farther, Daisy’s wings and hat beside him coated in dirt. She tried to move forward but Walt’s hands held her firmly in place. “He knows what he’s doing,” he assured calmly.

“What _is_ he doing?”

“Daisy’s under the house, she’s upset over something, so he went under to get her. This ain’t his first rodeo, he did the same thing for me when my punk still fit under things to hide like that.”

Sure enough, before long Henry was crawling backwards from under the house, now sufficiently covered in dirt from head to toe, with Daisy appearing shortly after with much less effort. Audrie was at his side in an instant, pulling her filthy cowgirl-fairy-princess into her arms and kissing every part of her head while battling tears.

“Baby you can’t hide like that, you scared Mommy so bad, Daisy-Girl. Don’t ever do that.”

“I was sad,” Daisy pouted, playing with the wings that still sat crooked on her mother’s back.

“Always tell me, Daisy. It’s okay to be sad and want to be alone, but always tell me first so I know where you are. Why were you so sad? It’s your birthday party!”

Audrie tried to cheer her girl up, but Daisy only burst into tears and hid her face against her body. Audrie looked wide-eyed to Henry for answers while he stood to dust himself off, but he could only offer a sympathetic frown. “Daisy-girl, baby, what made you so sad?”

“I c-called Daddy,” Daisy’s answer shattered Audrie’s heart and she tightened her hold on her as tears of her own threatened to break. She had tried to prevent her fear of her ex’s absence ruining Daisy’s day get to her, but it had loomed over her all day like a dark cloud.

“Oh, baby,” she cooed and tried to sooth her little girl, but Daisy’s cries only intensified. Through several gasps, coughs, and gags, she explained that she had called her father’s cell phone, only to have a stranger answer and explain to her that it wasn’t her daddy’s number anymore. Audrie already knew that he had changed his number, she had learned that when she tried to do right by Daisy, put her own feelings away, and invite him to the party. Apparently when he said he was done, he meant with everything and not just with Audrie.

Eventually Daisy calmed down and with a little coaxing agreed to rejoin her friends under the promise that cake and presents would be soon. Walt offered to look after her to give Audrie some time to put herself back together and followed her around the house. Henry sat on the steps he had crawled under earlier and waited patiently for Audrie to speak.

She reminded him of a worn and broken doll with the way she sat crumpled in the dirt. Her once-white clothes were as dirty as his and Daisy’s from holding her daughter, she had a hole in one of her wings from the stress the wire hangers put on the hose she had used to make them, and her hat was one good breeze from falling completely off. She had eyeliner ringed around her eyes the same way she had the night he found her locked in the bathroom at the Red Pony.

“I’ve been dreading this all week,” she announced finally, breaking him from his observations, “I’ve been waiting all week for that shoe to drop. I understand him wanting to cut me out of his life, things weren’t great between us. If it weren’t for Daisy I would have left seven years ago! But, I stayed because she deserves someone there for her, how can he be so selfish, Henry? How can he hurt her like this?”

The tears fell freely as the heartache she felt made itself known in her voice. Her head fell back against the side of the trailer and she closed her eyes to block out the world, listening to the sounds of the birthday party in her back yard. The party she should be laughing and celebrating in.

“Audrie, she does have someone there for her, I have seen it every moment since I met you on the road that night. Every decision you make concerns her first. There is not a moment of her life that she lacks that person to rely on. _You_ will always be that person. Do not forget that.”

He kept his tone firm, as he often did when she fell apart around him. He had noticed that ordering her to feel better when she was distraught seemed to have the best result in comforting her. He stood and nudged her foot with his own to get her attention.

“What?” She shot daggers up at him as he stood over her, furious that he was smiling. How dare he always laugh when she was at her weakest point? And now he was _literally_ there to kick her while she was down.

“It is time for you to straighten your wings, put your hat back on, and get back on the horse. You are a cowgirl-fairy-princess, now act like it.” He extended a hand to help her to her feet and adjusted her hat for her once she was steady.

“I’m afraid of horses,” She shot back sarcastically and leaned back against the trailer, “can you tell I’ve been crying?”

“Absolutely. I suggest you go inside and take a minute before bringing that cake out to the birthday girl. If we do not hold up our end of the bargain soon, we may have a small riot on our hands.”

She was about to retort when Vic came strolling up with gift bags in hand. “Sorry I’m late, shit came up and I couldn’t get a hold of Walt so I- Jesus, Audrie, what happened?”

Audrie tilted her head to the side in questioning but Henry provided the answer. “I told you,” he nodded, referring to his answer as to whether it was obvious she had been crying. He brushed past her and Vic and offered to show Vic where the gift table was. He did a remarkable job distracting the blonde deputy from Audrie’s apparent breakdown and she made a mental note to thank him for it later.

She quickly ducked into her bathroom to try and clean her clothes of the dirt but it only left mud patches on her white birthday regalia. _“Just as well,”_ she thought, “ _the point is to match Daisy, we may as well share mud stains.”_ She didn’t bother touching up her makeup. Instead, she took a clean patch of the wash cloth and washed off the eyeliner and mascara that her tears had tracked down her face and called herself presentable.

Her next stop was the kitchen where she collected Daisy’s birthday cake and very carefully made her way to the table Walt had set up out back.

“Guess what, Birthday Girl!” She sang excitedly to announce her return to the party and quickly set the cake down before she was rushed by over-excited little girls. If there was anything she had done for the party that none of the other mothers could pick apart, it was the cake. Audrie had a love of baking and a skill for decorating. Her hobby was to create bakery-perfect deserts for special occasions, and Daisy’s cowgirl-fairy-princess themed birthday was he very most special of occasions.

Daisy balanced eagerly on a chair to stand up above the cake while Audrie held her securely with one arm and lit candles with the other. As soon as the seventh candle was lit everyone began to sing, and Audrie was battling tears again. She could feel Daisy trying not to cry and couldn’t risk looking up to see her little girl hurting again. For the first six years of her life, Daisy always had Mommy holding one hand, and Daddy holding the other for Happy Birthday, and it wasn’t fair that her seventh had to leave such a hole in her life.

“Ok, baby, make your wish!” Audrie encouraged, but Daisy had already started to blow out the candles.

Audrie cut and served the cake with Daisy hanging off her back. They quickly developed a system where Audrie would cut pieces and hand plates up to Daisy, who would hand them to their guests. It was a delicate balancing act, but seemingly effortless. Daisy’s smile had returned, and Audrie was able to put on a convincing enough show to remedy any concerns from those she considered friends.

 Daisy and her friends practically inhaled their pieces, so Audrie let the birthday girl open her gifts while the adults finished their cake at a much healthier pace. Most of the gifts were much needed items that Audrie was beyond appreciative of, but it stung her pride to admit that strangers could provide her daughter with things she just couldn’t manage yet. New clothes for school seemed to be the main focus. New shoes for gym class, since Daisy’s old gym shoes apparently didn’t make it into their bags and she had been borrowing shoes from the classroom since starting school. Stuffed animals and coloring books, dress-up makeup and jewelry sets. To Audrie’s horror, a bead set with “1,000 Piece Set” in bright print across the box.

“This one is so pretty!” Daisy squeaked excitedly when she came across a gift bag covered in glittery colorful horses. Audrie glanced over to see Henry shoot Walt a triumphant smirk, while Walt grumbled a retort and something about newspaper. Daisy let the tissue paper blow across the yard with the rest of the wrapping paper and held up a children’s rendition of Treasure Island, a Tinkerbell coloring book, and a bag of colorful children’s socks.

Walt had rapped his gift in newspaper and given her a new stuffed bear to add to her collection, and a fairy dress-up costume. Audrie had no doubt in her mind that Daisy would be wearing that costume for the rest of the weekend, and probably a few evenings after school if she could get away with it. The socks Henry bought would go on her hands like “fancy long gloves”, as most of Audrie’s socks had been borrowed and lost already. The stuffed bear would likely become Zi-Zi’s best friend and have lots of playdates together, if the way Daisy was already conversing excitedly with it was any indication of its future.

The party ended shortly after presents were opened.  Daisy hugged all her guests goodbye and went to her room to put away all her new gifts while Audrie started folding chairs and throwing gift wrappings away.  “You really know how to throw a birthday party,” Vic complimented, helping her fold and stack chairs beside Walt’s truck.

“Thanks,” she sighed with a tired smile, “I know I can’t do as well as the other moms that came. I’ll never be _that_ mom, I just don’t have the money. It’s even worse now without,” Audrie paused and shook her head before rephrasing her statement, “it’s harder now that we’re on our own.”

“Well, luckily you aren’t completely on your own out here.”

Audrie managed a genuine smile and graciously accepted a hug from her before turning at the sound of footsteps on the gravel drive.

“That’s the last of the chairs. Henry’s got the awning packed up, the yard’s all cleaned up. You can barely tell there was a party, aside form the glitter all over the grass.” Walt stood with one and on his side, the other supporting his weight as he leaned on the hood of the truck. Audrie continued to pour thanks and appreciation on her new friends, refusing to let anyone leave without refreshments for helping clean up the party.

Henry was already inside cleaning up streamers and balloons when they walked through the door. He quickly silenced their conversation and gestured to the corner of the room where Daisy was curled up with Zi-Zi and her new bear, still wearing her wings and hat.

“I figured as much, she’s had a long day.” Audrie giggled and crossed the room to take the balloon and scissors from Henry and lay them on the table instead. “Leave the decorations, they’re pretty.

 “I don’t have much seating but help yourselves to whatever’s available. There is plenty of cake left in the fridge, I have tea made, there’s actual food, too, if you’re hungry.”

As they sat together in the front room snacking on leftover cake, Audrie found it a little easier to open up to them. She realized that it was the first time since her baby shower that she was able to have friends over just to enjoy their company. Vic and Henry both seemed to gang up on Walt when it came to sharing stories, leaving the jokes at his expense. In retaliation Walt shared stories against the two of them, and for the first time Audrie was thankful to be the stranger in the group. If Daisy had been awake it would have been a different story, but she stayed sound asleep in the corner.

As the sun set and evening rolled around, Vic, Walt, and Henry took their leave one by one to tend to their business elsewhere. Audrie hugged each of them goodbye, sending plastic-wrapped plates of cake home no matter how any of them tried to refuse her. Her winning argument was that she simply didn’t want that much cake in the house with Daisy, she’d sneak it all night and never sleep. She waved from her window as Henry pulled away from the drive, being the last one out by an hour, and then carefully scooped Daisy and all her animals up to carry her to bed.

Sneaking a set of fairy wings off a sleeping child was no easy task, but somehow, she managed. Once Daisy was safely tucked in she fluffed the blankets on her floor that had become her makeshift mattress in he own room, and lay staring at the ceiling thinking about the day.

For the first time since moving to Absaroka, while sitting in the floor of her living room laughing beside Henry and Walt as he and Vic teased their Sheriff, she felt at home. She couldn’t help but hope the feeling would stay, and eventually fell asleep replaying the night’s events behind closed eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feedback makes the world go 'round ;)


	7. Timestamps and Bedposts

Audrie slammed her hands down on the counter in front of her, the echo from her palms resonated around the empty bar as she glared furiously at the man across from her. Henry stood with his arms folded over his chest and returned her challenge in kind. His jaw remained firmly set as he stared her down. It was a staring contest combined with the quiet game championship, but their stance and expression spoke all the volumes of a screaming match without the strain on their vocal cords.

After several seconds of still silence Henry took a daring step forward and mimicked her stance, resting his hands on the edge of the bar and leaning in to further the challenge of stubborn natures. A chess game of wills that he rarely played with anyone other than Walt. Unfortunately, his new opponent proved just as much a pain in the ass as her predecessor.

He knew he had the upper hand when he saw a subtle shift in her weight. Her right ankle slid behind her left as she began absently playing with the back of her shoe. It was something he had seen her do every time Daisy was in trouble for something that Audrie found comical. She was trying not to show her amusement and let him win but they both knew he was winning. It was like an arm wrestling match, all he had to do was push a little more and the match would be over.

He leaned in just slightly within her personal space, and there it was. Both corners of her mouth twitched, and she rolled her eyes while pushing herself away from the bar and away from him. He nodded and spoke in triumph to her reflection as she turned away from him.

“It is settled. I will be over tomorrow morning after you take Daisy to school.”

The cocky smirk he wore only infuriated her more, and all she could offer as a response was a quick and sharp, “Fuck you.”

“Mommy! That’s a bad word!”

Audrie closed her eyes and tilted her head back as if to look at the ceiling. Of course, Daisy would come out of his office right as she said the dreaded “F Word”.

“Yes, but mommy is an adult and sometimes adults need to say that word.” Audrie groaned her explanation while Henry leaned his weight on his hip at the bar and watch with a growing smugness.

“Does that mean Henry isn’t your friend anymore?” Daisy asked sadly and looked ready to cry as she turned her attention back and forth between Henry and her mother.

“Damn it,” Audrie muttered under her breath before turning her full attention to her daughter. It only took a quick, albeit reluctant, apology to Henry for cursing at him to remedy Daisy’s concerns, which he graciously accepted. Since it was a painfully slow night they closed early enough that Daisy wasn’t asleep just yet, so Audrie carried her backpack out herself as a dig at Henry to be sure he knew he hadn’t completely won.

True to his word, the next day when Audrie came home from driving Daisy to school he was parked in front of her home leaning patiently against the side of his truck. “I can’t believe you,” she half laughed when she saw the wooden bed frame and mattress secured in the bed of his truck.

“Consider it a late housewarming gift,” he nodded, and started untying the bed. She helped him carry the mattress back to the empty room she had been sleeping in, but that was as far as he allowed her to assist. He carried the rest of the frame in on his own and made short work of the assembly. The best help she could offer was a glass of iced tea when he was done.

Audrie couldn’t have been more thankful for the bed he brought her, even if she had furiously argued against it the night before. Both knew their argument was in good nature, but her stubbornness took it to a whole new level. Deep down she wanted to hug him and cry she was so touched that he had thought of her and wanted to be sure she had a bed to sleep in, instead of the floor. Outwardly, she felt terrible accepting such a gift, because she didn’t want it to seem like he was using him. She already felt bad enough with how much he had helped her in her time settling into her new life, but Walt and Vic, and anyone else who knew Henry Standing Bear assured her that he wouldn’t be helping if it wasn’t genuine.

“Thank you for the bed, Henry. I don’t think I remember what it feels like to wake up and _not_ be tired and sore.”

“Do not mention it,” he nodded dismissively and continued to look around her front room as they sat together. She could see him trying to figure out some of Daisy’s DIY home décor and openly giggled, moving to point at the drawing he was admiring.

“It’s our old apartment building. That’s my car parked out front in our spot. This is the window to our living room. The three spots there are me, Daisy, and Stuffles.”

“Stuffles?”

“Mmhmm, he was our cat for years. Daisy had a hell of a time saying ‘Shuffles’ when she was little, so his name changed. We found him in the alley, his leg just didn’t work right. We left him with my neighbor when we moved.” She moved to another one of her favorite drawings and pointed.

“This one is a picture of Daisy’s plans for the future,” she laughed, “That’s Walt, and Vic, and me, and you, and this is grown up Daisy. She owns a place like yours called the ‘Purple Pony’ because she likes purple better than red. She’s also Sheriff, to help Walt catch bad guys. We all live in that big house next to us together. You get a new truck. It’s yellow.”

She pointed to another and laughed a little more. Henry recognized the house with the orange dog on top from a previous drawing and knew it had to be his bar. Beside it was a second house with a purple dog. “That’s her bar next to yours… and your yellow truck. This colorful thing here? That’s what she rides to work every day. It’s a unicorn.”

“Of course, what else would a cowgirl-fairy-princess who works as a bartending sheriff ride?”

Audrie giggle-snorted and turned to face him but he was surprised to see that she had tears in her eyes. She took a breath and shook her head, the same way she had the night they met when her tire had blown out. This time Daisy wasn’t around for her to distract herself from the coming conversation and giving a tour of her personal art museum just didn’t make the cut. He didn’t pry to see what had bothered her and chose to patiently wait until she sat down again and let him know what was on her mind and leave the choice to share up to her.

“Damn, I miss that cat.”

“I do not believe the cat is the only thing bothering you, but all right.”

“No, but… still.

“Anyway, it’s nice to not just be sitting here alone all day waiting to get Daisy. I run out of things to clean in about an hour in here. Being out here is so different, you know? It’s so quiet now without, without everything.”

“I will assume ‘everything’ means the cat.”

Audrie gave a tired, sad laugh and nodded. “Yeah,”

It was quiet again for a while, while she lost herself in thought and he allowed her to think. It had been several months since she had moved, and she was finally to a point that she was somewhat established. People in town recognized her as Audrie Davis, and not just as the newcomer. There was still a playful bet on whether she would stay past the winter, but for the most part she had been accepted as a member of the community.

“What made you decide to leave the cat and move to our little paradise?” he asked finally. He was on his way into the kitchen, carrying a bag he had brought in and left on the counter after they carried the mattress in.

She hesitated to answer and tried to distract herself with watching him preparing lunch in her kitchen. He glanced over his shoulder and saw how conflicted she was to answer. She leaned her back on the table behind him and wrapped her arms around her middle, as she often did when she was upset or struggling, but before he could change the subject she took a breath and started quietly answering the question.

“Once Daisy started walking, and talking, and needing more of my attention… it just wasn’t a good lifestyle for him. The cat just got meaner as we got older.”

She could see the change in his posture as he fiddled with the pans on the stove. His back stiffened, and she could tell from the way he held his head he was bothered by her answer.

“And as this cat got older, it scratched you?”

“Only a few times, when things were bad,” she nodded quietly. She shifted her own weight uncomfortably and watched him shake his head and continue cooking.

“And Daisy?”

“No,” she looked up to the ceiling and blinked back a few tears before his movement caught her attention again. He was bringing plates over to the table, so she moved aside to avoid being in his way. “I’m sorry, can we talk about something else?”

Henry nodded and motioned to the two plates of pan friend pork chops. “Daisy mentioned last night something about cooking lessons?”

Audrie took a seat at the table across from him and stared blankly, clearly confused.

“She asked if I would be willing to teach you to make burgers like the ones I serve at the Red Pony, and in return you would teach me your secret ‘dinner cake’ recipe.”

Audrie sputtered a laugh unlike anything he had heard from her before. It was a high pitched, gasping, laugh of shock as she hid behind her hands for a moment before awkwardly tugging at the back of her hair. She blushed and shook her head, avoiding eye contact for a second while she collected herself. “No,” she managed finally, “I never said anything about that! That, scheming, little, goofball! I can’t believe her! _She_ wants me to ask you to teach me, because she wants to be able to have burgers at home, too. I think she prefers your cooking to mine and wants me to cook more like you do. That ‘dinner cake’ she complains about is casserole.  I she’s tired of casseroles.”

“If they are as good as your birthday cakes, I cannot see what she has to tire of.”

Audrie, as usual, dismissed the compliment and changed the subject. He wondered if she was always that way about compliments or if it was a new defense against the events that led her to move to Durant in the first place.

Though she would never admit to Daisy, she personally did prefer Henry’s cooking far above her casseroles. Even when they had enough money to have a more diverse menu, she never cooked anything like the things he managed. As far as Daisy was concerned though, Audrie thought casseroles were the greatest meal on the planet and Henry’s cooking was second place, at best.

“Did you ever open the beads Daisy got for her birthday?”

Audrie huffed and shook her head. “I gave her a few handfuls of beads to play with and put the rest in a cabinet where she can’t reach. Who even gives a seven-year-old, a thousand beads?” She laughed through her short tirade and shook her head again.

Audrie insisted on washing the dishes and cleaning up lunch while he sat and once again admired the artwork that hung around her home. His office was developing a similar theme, since Daisy had a habit of leaving him surprise drawings as gifts on his desk. He always felt obligated to hang them somewhere for her to be able to see when she came back. Clearly Audrie had a similar obligation.

Audrie had completely ignored the clock during their visit. When she did finally glance at the time it was a panic race to get out the door and to the school in time to pick up Daisy. Henry had, until that moment, blamed Daisy’s habit of blending an entire sentence into one word on her age. However, when Audrie turned to face him so sharply that her braid whipped around and hit her in the eye and rambled something so quick and inaudible it put Daisy’s habits to shame, he saw the truth. The apple never falls far from the tree.

“I did not quite catch that,” he nodded, comically calm amid her chaos as she darted across the room to slip her shoes on. She had thrown the door open and was already half way out with one shoe in her hand, and her other hand searching pockets for her keys when she answered.

“Oh my god, Henry, I’m late! I forgot daisy, oh my god I’m such a terrible mother! I’m sorry, I feel so bad running out on you like this but I’m already late to get her she’s going to think I forgot her!”

He collected his things while she fumbled around the front seat of her car and stopped by her side on his way to his truck. “I locked the door on my way out. Here are your keys.”

She blew a frustrated breath through her nose and wordlessly accepted her car keys. “Remember to breathe. Your body cannot function otherwise,” he reminded before continuing to his truck. He waved again from his driver’s seat and backed out so that she could move her car. The speed with which she drove left him hoping she didn’t cross paths with any of their mutual friends in law enforcement.

By the time Audrie made it to the school car rider pickup had ended, and Daisy was pouting in the office.  No amount of apologizing improved her mood, and the ride home was silent.  In an attempt ease the grudge her daughter held Audrie stopped off at the Busy Bee, hoping that bribes still worked on seven-year-olds.

Daisy pouted her way from the car to the café and dragged her feet from the doors to the counter where Audrie lifted her up to sit on the stool. Daisy always liked sitting on “the tall chairs” at the counter and often Audrie said no, because she was afraid she’d fall without a backrest. Daisy didn’t care which chair she sat on, and still refused to acknowledge her mother.

Audrie groaned and took a seat beside her daughter, needing to jump to climb due to her small stature. Often, she hoped Daisy would inherit her father’s legs and be at least a little taller than herself, but she dreaded the day she wasn’t able to carry her around anymore. 

“Daisy! What’s the matter? I’ve never seen you without your smile.”

Daisy completely ignored the woman trying to get her attention and put her head down on the counter. “I’m sorry, Dorothy, Daisy’s having a bad day because I was late picking her up from school,” Audrie explained, clearly being worn down by her daughter’s guilt trip.

“Say no more.”  The older woman nodded and turned back to the griddle behind her to start working on a surprise order for the angry little girl at her counter.  A fresh cup of coffee was set in front of Audrie, on the house, with all the sugar and creamer her heart could wish for.  Within minutes a plate of pancakes was set in front of daisy, with all her favorite toppings, but when she reached for it Dorothy took the plate back and smiled like a grandmother about to spoil her only grandchild.

“Oh, I only give pancakes to little girls who are kind to their mothers, and who smile and are happy when they sit at my counter. Do you know where I might find a little girl like that?”

Daisy shook her head and pouted more and ignored the plate of pancakes completely. “Well, when you change your mind, I’ll keep ‘em hot for you. In the meantime, Audrie, what can I get you?”

 “The coffee’s just fine but thank you anyway.”

Daisy continued to pout and Audrie only felt more guilt. The coffee went as untouched as the pancakes and once it went cold Dorothy refreshed it for her with a supportive smile. It wasn’t until Walt joined them at the counter that Daisy found the will to speak, and it was only when he asked about the seemingly forgotten plate of pancakes Dorothy was keeping by the stove.

“Well, I happen to have a great smile, love pancakes, and like all good boys I was always kind my mama,” He announced with a sly after Dorothy had repeated what she had told Daisy. Immediately the older woman shrugged and set the plate in front of him, and without hesitation he pretended to take a huge bite.

Daisy promptly slid from her stool and tried to take the plate back, but Walt playfully refused and instead teased her about her mood. She was stubborn and tried for the longest time to keep from smiling but eventually he won and earned a giggle that was the most welcomed sound Audrie had ever heard. He helped her up onto the stool beside him and slid the untouched pancakes over to her.

As Audrie watched Walt entertain her daughter into a better mood she was suddenly struck with a wave of emotions that left her blinking back tears in hopes no one would notice. She felt silly for feeling hurt and jealousy toward him for being able to cheer her daughter up when she couldn’t but for some reason it struck a nerve in her that left her feeling emotionally defeated.

Once Daisy had finished her pancakes, Audrie feigned happiness and thanked Walt for working miracles. He hugged her and reminded her not to be a stranger and ordered Daisy by authority of the County Sherriff’s Department to be nice to her mother or else he’d have to come and arrest her. Daisy immediately challenged him by sticking her tongue out at Audrie, but when he started pulling cuffs from his belt she immediately apologized and darted to grab Audrie’s hand.

With another quick thanks the two headed to the car to make the journey home.

Daisy’s mood had drastically improved and half way home she had apologized and promised to forgive Audrie for being late.

“But why did be late to get me?”

“Well, remember last night when I was arguing with Henry? It was because he wanted to bring me a present and I felt bad because he has already helped us so much and Mommy felt bad letting him do even more for us. While he was here I didn’t see the clock, so I didn’t leave on time to come get you. I’m sorry, Baby, I really am.”

Daisy nodded and slumped in her seat. As usual, she propped her little feet on the dash in front of her and rested her hands on her knees. She called her favorite position ‘sitting like an egg’ and said it was the most comfortable way to sit and felt bad for grown-ups because they couldn’t sit that way anymore.

“Did go to sleep together?”

Audrie glanced over at her daughter in shock and sputtered her answer. She could have expected a question like that to come from Vic any day, but Daisy caught her completely off guard.

“Because he got you a bed. Did you take naps and that’s why you got late?”

Audrie’s laughter was nothing short of explosive. “Oh, baby, no we didn’t take a nap. He put the bed together and then we ate lunch.”

“What’s funny?” Daisy giggled, wriggling her bare toes up toward the windshield.

“Nothing, just you. You make me laugh, that’s all.”

Instead of sleeping in her new bed, Audrie spent most of the night on the phone with her cousin talking about her new life and how the day had gone. Janet worked midnight shifts and on nights when she didn’t work liked to call Audrie and keep her up all night.

“Everyone makes mistakes, Dee, just let it go. So what, you were late to get her from school _one time_. It’s not the end of the world.”

“It’s not that, I just feel so… just,” Audrie struggled to find words to fit the emotions but Janet cut her off by offering the answer.

“Guilty?”

“Yes! Just, ugh, is it stupid, Jay? Or is it normal?”

“I think yes to both. You feel guilty because you were happy and having a good time and lost track of time. You were late to get Daisy because you were enjoying yourself and not staring at the clock waiting to get her, like you usually do. Listen,” Audrie could hear Janet moving around through the phone and could picture the way she practically hopped around on the couch to sit comfortably the way she had since they were little, “I think, just an assumption, you feel guilty because you left Ryan and already you’re diggin’ on Henry, or Bear, or whatever his name is.”

“He goes by both, and I’m not ‘diggin’ on anybody, Janet.”

“I can hear you smiling, which means I can hear you lying. It’s okay to be happy, Dee, I know you don’t think so because since Daisy was born you’ve been under the impression that thinking about your own happiness somehow makes you a bad mom. Just, you know, be careful. Don’t fall in love just because he’s nice to you. Ryan is a sack of crap, and you know the only thing I don’t hate about him is he gave us Daisy, and, that being said, I don’t want you falling in love with the first man who treats you like an actual human being. I wish I lived closer, so I could be there with you and help more than phone calls.”

“I wish you lived closer, too. I don’t know how to do any of this by myself.”

“Sure you do. You just keep doing what you’re doing. I have a long weekend from work coming up, and if we can swing it, we’ll come down and visit. Fight a Bear, if I have to.”

Audrie laughed and pulled her feet up under herself, and absently picked at her sock. “Why are you going to fight a Bear?”

“Just looking out for my favorite cousin. Listen, the sun is gonna come up soon and we both have kids to drive around. Danny has a doctor’s appointment tomorrow, so no sleeping in for me. Do you work tomorrow?”

Audrie sighed and considered procrastinating their goodbye but knew that Janet was right. They both needed to get some sleep, even if it was just an hour or two before their alarms went off. She gave her cousin her work schedule, and both women groaned at the weeks’ worth of conflicts. They said goodnight and exchanged hopes for Janet’s visit.

When Audrie crawled into bed she couldn’t help the sigh of contentment. After sleeping on the floor for so long, it seemed impossible to find an uncomfortable position in her new bed. It took no time at all for sleep to claim her from the stresses of her day and leave her resting peacefully for the rest of the night.


	8. Slumber Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Audrie experiences her first snow storm in Wyoming.

As the seasons changed Audrie found more and more how unprepared she was for her big move to a new life. Every time she thought she had finally had herself sorted something else came up. When her home was finally furnished, she realized she had no winter gear for Daisy to play at recess. Once Daisy was all cozied up for winter Audrie realized that she herself was painfully unprepared for winter in Wyoming and had to search for winter gear for herself.

That was finally taken care of, snow was falling rapidly, she was lost at a stop sign in a sea of white where she knew a road was supposed to be… and her car refused to move another inch. The hazard lights wouldn’t work, the car would not start, for the second time since the start of her new life she was helpless on a back Wyoming road with no way to call for help.

Once the car was fixed, a cell phone was the next priority on the endless list.

“Hey mommy, why aren’t we going to work?” Daisy asked curiously from her bundle of blankets in the back seat, but Audrie only offered a sharp “Shh!” in response. She was worried for their safety, between the cold, lack of visibility without hazard lights or even headlights, and nowhere to walk to in this weather she was out of ideas and this time she couldn’t hide behind the car to vent her emotions as she had done when the tire blew out what seemed like a lifetime ago.

Audrie remembered that Walt had gifted her a “winter survival kit” to keep in her trunk with some flares to signal her stopped car, a small propane heater, and some emergency blankets in case she ever got stranded. It seemed that in his years of experience with stranded motorists in a snowstorm he knew exactly what she would need. With a quick order to Daisy to stay under her blankets Audrie left the warmth of her broken down Honda to rummage through the large toolbox full of emergency supplies.

When she opened the box, she swore she heard angels sing. Nestled neatly between a rolled up blanket and a box of granola bars was an emergency radio with a note taped to it that read: _“I hope you never have to use this but if the situation calls for it, just turn it on and key the mic. It’s already on our frequency, someone will answer you. Spare battery is in the bottom of the box just in case. Stay safe, Walt.”_

               She shivered while reading the instructions for the flares and without a shred of confidence lit them up and stuck them in the snow to mark her car, one in front and one behind, hoping that they would be enough to keep anyone from hitting her car while they waited for help. She emptied the survival box before returning to the safety of her front seat with blankets, heater, snacks, and radio in hand.

               “Hey Mommy, why aren’t we going anywhere? Are we gonna sleep here?”

               It was obvious Daisy was scared when Audrie climbed into the back seat with her to share the blankets. She didn’t want to use the heater unless it was absolutely necessary, for fear it might set her car on fire. “Well, Daisy-girl, hopefully not. Remember that box Sheriff Longmire gave us to keep in the car?”

               “Yeah… for if we are stranded in snow. Are we stranded?”

               “Yep, baby girl, we’re stranded. It’s okay though because there was a radio in that box to let us call Sheriff Longmire for help, so we’re going to use that and stay under these blankets and stay warm until someone comes to help us.”

               As soon as Daisy saw the radio, she snatched it from Audrie’s hand and keyed the mic.

               “Hey Sheriff Walt, you gotta come get us, ok?”

               Audrie gasped and immediately scorned her daughter for taking the radio, explaining that it should be an adult to radio for help and not Daisy unless there was no adult to do it, but Daisy ignored her and kept talking into the radio to ask Walt for help, eventually resulting in a backseat wrestling match for radio rights.

               “Daisy? Is that you, sweetheart? Where are you honey, is Mommy with you?”

               Ruby’s voice was nearly drowned out completely between the radio static and the struggle between mother and daughter, but Daisy was quick to answer.

               “Yeah Ruby! Is Sheriff Walt gonna come get us?”

               “Ruby, hi, we’re stranded but we’re ok.” Audrie explained quickly after snatching the radio from her daughter.

               “Where are you? I’ll get a hold of our boys on the road and get someone over to you.”

               Audrie began to describe her surroundings and the crossroads while Daisy shouted over her shoulder, “We’re at the stop sign!”  

               It took longer for Ruby to discern their location than it did for her to radio back that help was on the way. Walt had gone on patrol to stop drivers and urge them to stay off the roads until they were cleared and had stopped at the Red Pony to wait for calls, instead of risking himself on the roads more than he needed to.  It was a long 45 minutes to wait for rescue, but it was easier for Audrie to know that help was on the way for Daisy.  

               For the first time in her life Audrie was happy to see the flashing lights of law enforcement stop behind her car. Daisy had almost fallen asleep from sheer boredom but sprang to life the moment the snow began to flash a different color. Audrie groaned at Walt’s knock and reluctantly unburied herself from the warmth of their back-seat blanket fort to open the window. Daisy mimicked his knock excitedly, practically standing on her mother to do so, and as soon as there was an opening, she wriggled her way through to wrap her noodle-thin arms around her rescuer’s neck.

               “Henry! How did you come get us?” she giggled excitedly.

               “Henry?” Audrie looked up in equal confusion to see Daisy’s rainbow socks kicking herself the rest of the way through the window to hang around Henry’s neck as he held her.

               “I tried to call you to tell you that the Red Pony would be closed due to this storm. However, you did not answer.”

               “Yeah, well, we left straight from school to get to work on time, due to this storm. You know I don’t have a cell phone.”

               “Yes, and you know my feelings on that,” he nodded toward Walt as he appeared beside him with an extra blanket to wrap around Daisy from his truck.

               “Howdy, ladies.” He gave a small tip of his hat and tickled Daisy’s side before turning to Audrie as she exited the car to join him.

               “Howdy, Sheriff Longmire,” Audrie mimicked with much less enthusiasm.

               “Truck’s on its way to pull you back to down. The Bear here is going to take you back to make sure you get home. I’ll wait for tow for you, so you can get going.” He nodded, clearly leaving no room for argument and for once Audrie didn’t argue. Instead she threw her arms around him in the tightest hug she could manage and thanked him for everything before climbing into Henry’s waiting truck.

               As soon as Audrie had her seat, Daisy wriggled herself into her lap and bunched her feet up against the dash in her favorite position. She managed to keep the blanket tightly wrapped around herself and quickly fell asleep in Audrie’s arms.

               The storm showed no signs of easing up and according to Henry’s prediction it was going to be one of the more severe storms they would see that winter. Audrie had learned that he had a knack for such predictions and never questioned him anymore as he was rarely wrong. He disregarded her boasts of his talent and assured her it was simply knowing what natural signs to read but she and Daisy both continued to call it magic. It was mostly for Daisy’s sake that Audrie refused his explanation, as she just knew in her heart that Henry was magic somehow, and Audrie couldn’t take that from her. After all they had been through, Daisy deserved to believe some magic was still left in the world.

               “Thank you for coming to get us. You didn’t have to, and you probably shouldn’t have, but I do really appreciate you for it.”

               Audrie kept her voice low to avoid waking the snug little thing that slept in her lap and kept her eyes nervously on the road ahead of them as Henry skillfully navigated the icy road from memory, as the drifts had all but erased the roads completely.

               “I could not have left the two of you stranded. If nothing else, Walt would never let me hear the end of it,” he joked, also keeping his eyes fixed ahead of him as he drove. “Why do you think I should not have come?”

               “Hm?” she glanced over and saw the bothered expression he wore to accompany his question and immediately cursed herself for her endlessly awkward attempts at socialization. “No, that came out stupid. I meant you should worry about yourself sometimes, too. You do so much for people, but I don’t see you take care of yourself as often. It’s dangerous to be on the roads, Henry, you could have gone home before the storm got bad. You’d be safe and not driving down an ice rink of a road in a blizzard, in the dark.”

               “And you are the expert of remembering to care for yourself,” he nodded lightly. The corner of his mouth turned up just enough that Audrie could see the hint of a smile and she relaxed again, rolling her eyes at his jokes, ever at her expense.

               “Fair enough, we both suck.” Her agreement earned a low chuckle from her driver, but as road conditions worsened even further, they both settled into a tense silence. Audrie had never seen Henry look genuinely tense before, and it made her even more nervous to be on the road. She trusted his driving far more than her own, but even he had trouble keeping his truck on the road and they had nearly slid off multiple times by the time they finally pulled up to Audrie’s home.

               “Give me your keys,” she demanded as soon as the truck was parked. Her demand was met with a short and stunned, “What?” She repeated her demand again, this time holding her hand out expectantly.

               Henry stared her down for a while. Her expression was set, and he had learned from their months of working together that when she held that look it would take every bit of his willpower to win the battle of wills that would follow. Her hand stayed out, still as stone, waiting for him to yield his keys while her other arm remained securely around the wad of blanket that hid Daisy from the cold.

               “I do not see why-”

               “Henry Standing Bear, we almost crashed more than once just getting here and it’s snowing even harder and I didn’t even think that was possible just give me your damn keys.”

               “You do not trust me to drive safely.” Audrie couldn’t tell if his response was a statement or a question but his ever-present smooth calmness only frustrated her more in that moment.

               “I trust you, Henry, more than anyone else I’ve met here. I don’t trust the storm and you taught me to take anyone’s keys if I don’t trust one-hundred-percent that they will safely make it home. Now give me, your damn, keys.”

               Henry shook his head and chuckled again, reluctantly setting his keys in the palm of Audrie’s waiting hand. “I regret teaching you so well.”

               Audrie rolled her eyes and skillfully maneuvered to open her door and slide out of the truck with Daisy still in her arms. The snow was well above her ankles and it took all she had to stay standing in her slow walk to her door. Daisy was awake almost instantly, whining about the cold and the snowflakes hitting her face but Audrie only shushed her and promised to be inside and warm soon. She nearly slipped and fell on the way up her porch steps, but managed to keep upright if only barely, and began the most frustrating fight to open her front door that she had ever experienced.

               Between the bitter cold, the blinding snow, her own shivering, and operating one handed while holding her daughter, Audrie knew it was a losing battle but was far too stubborn to admit it. After nearly dropping her keys the third time she noticed Henry’s hand over her shoulder, expectantly open.

               “Give me your damn keys.”

               “I can get it.”

               Before she could try again, he reached around her and prized them from her hand and opened the door in one swift movement. “I should knock you off the porch,” she grumbled while brushing past him to carry Daisy into the warmth of their home. Henry kept his retorts to himself and casually hanged her keys on the small hook beside her fridge while Daisy scampered through the house and Audrie went into the kitchen to start some coffee.

               “Mommy why won’t the light turn on? I gotta pee,” Daisy whined from the opposite end of their trailer. At about the same time, Audrie noticed that the coffee pot wouldn’t turn on either.

               “We don’t have power? Fuck. Henry, fuck! We don’t have power!”

               “That is not surprising with this storm. Many people will be without power tonight. There will be warming shelters established tomorrow for those without heat.”

               “What do I do tonight?”

               “I suggest you bring Daisy a candle for now. You have a gas stove; the oven can be used as an emergency heater. I will take care of that while you take care of Daisy.”

               Audrie didn’t seem convinced, but nonetheless followed his direction. To keep herself from showing Daisy how upset she was, she pulled every blanket and pillow she owned into the living room and instructed Daisy to do the same. Of the two, Daisy was far more excited and practically ran to the front room with her blankets and Zi-Zi to set up for their slumber party.

               “Henry! I brought you this pillow. It’s my favorite because it is the comfiest! You can use it! I can’t believe we get to have a sleep over with you over! Can we invite Sheriff Walt too?” She bounced excitedly while setting up a pile of blankets around the pillow she chose for him and spun around so quickly that she nearly fell over once she had finished. “Hey Henry, what are you doing?” she asked much slower, curiously staring at him while he lit their oven by hand.

               “Daisy-girl, stay over here, ok? Let him do his thing,” Audrie warned. Daisy obeyed and plopped down where she stood, but quickly scrambled back up when he walked away from the lit oven and left the door wide open.

               “Hey, wait, don’t do that Henry! You gotta close the door back because that’s a fire in there, that’s how our new oven works it has a fire!”

               Henry nodded and claimed his place seated cross-legged on the bed she had made up for him. “Yes, and you are right it is dangerous to play with the oven and leave the door open if you do not know what you are doing. However, I promise you that we are safe as long as you do not go near the oven while the door is open. I will be watching the fire, and if it gets too big I will put it out.”

               “What if it gets too big real fast, though?”

               “I am faster.”

               His answer was so firm and confident that Daisy quietly nodded and leaned back against the sofa. She pulled Zi-Zi up against her chest and stared wide-eyed at the open oven. Audrie tried to convince him to sleep on the couch, naming him the Davis household’s honored guest, but he chose to let Daisy have it instead and embraced the slumber party tradition of sleeping on the floor.

               When Daisy finally fell asleep Audrie carefully tucked another blanket over her to be sure she stayed warm, and finally allowed herself to relax for the first time that night. “Our slumber parties are usually more fun,” she joked weakly.

               “It is a shame. I was looking forward to braiding hair and telling ghost stories.”

               The snort that Audrie made while trying to silence her laughter was painful and undignified, and even in the minimal light provide by the oven and a jar candle, he could see the tears it brought to her eyes. Her laugh was always the most genuine when she was at her highest points of stress and, and as he found months ago, it was also contagious.

               “If this storm keeps up like this, you’ll probably get your wish, but you’ll regret it.”

               “What is that?”

               “Just let Daisy do your hair once, and you’ll find out.” She stretched herself out on her stomach across the floor and bunched her pillow up under her chin the same way Daisy slept with Zi-Zi and looked up at him as he sat. The firelight made him look like one of the paintings sold to tourists in gift shops around Durant. It was the first time she really paid attention to how he looked and it was no longer a wonder to her why every woman who walked into the Red Pony flirted with him.

               He raised his bows in question when he glanced over and noticed her staring, and in an awkward panic at being caught in the act blurted out, “Your hair’s pretty.” Immediately her face turned a bashful rose hue, and she buried her face in her pillow to smother her shame. His choice to laugh a replied thanks, and compliment her hair as well only intensified her humiliation to the point she was tempted to take her changes against the blizzard and sleep outside. Much to her appreciation he made no further comment and eventually she fell asleep without looking back up from her hiding place.

               He waited until he was sure she was asleep before getting up to extinguish the oven and blow out the jar candle they used for light. Eventually he too drifted to sleep to the sound of the blizzard whistling outside the windows, hoping that the morning would bring more sun and less snow, and with any luck power to those without heat.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so beyond disappointed in myself for taking this long to update. I underestimated how hard full time credits and full time work would be, and then had to deal with some personal trauma for a while on top of it, but I'm back and better than ever, and the story continues! For those of you who stuck around, your comments mean the world to me and I wouldn't have been able to get back into it without you. Much love, and deepest apologies!


	9. Deep Thoughts and Reunions

The grand blizzard slumber party in the living room floor the Davis Household left Audrie and Henry sore and stiff from their makeshift beds on the floor. Daisy, however, woke up in the best of moods, and much to the dismay of the adults, also was the earliest to rise the next morning.

               The morning was a comedic chaos. Daisy sprung from the couch with Zi-Zi in hand to land on top of the sleeping bundle of blankets that was her mother and was greeted with a startled and pained, and most importantly deep, _male_ , grunt in response. A split second later Audrie gasped and let out a pained grunt of her own.

               “Sorry! Sorry Henry, I’m sorry! Are you ok?”

               “I am fine, Daisy.”

               Henry grunted again and moved Daisy to sit beside him, instead of laying across him, and pulled himself to sitting position leaned against the wall.  Audrie moved closer to the two, holding one hand over her nose and carefully inspecting her little girl for injury with the other. Daisy kept her face buried in Zi-Zi’s ears and sat with the most remorse-filled pout a seven-year-old was capable of, refusing to look up even for a second. Audrie knew her daughter well enough to know that she would come around eventually, but for the moment she was embarrassed, and felt bad for hurting Henry, and would remain in her pout until she felt ready to interact with people again.

               “She’s fine, I promise.” The sound of her muffled assurance broke Henry’s focus from the seven-year-old beside him and turned his attention to her as she stood up and made her way to the kitchen.

               “Are you?”

               “More or less. You kicked me when she landed on you,” she laughed. He was surprised to hear genuine laughter in place of what he would have expected to be her awkward giggle that always came out when she was uncomfortable.

               “I apologize.” He immediately went to work folding the blankets that were strewn about the entirety of the living room floor but stopped when Audrie returned with bits of balled-up napkin shoved in her nose.

               “Just leave it. We’ll probably build a fort out of them later anyway. It’s still freezing in here and the light wouldn’t turn on. I don’t think we have power back yet, so we’ll probably be using the blanket-piles to stay warm again tonight. On the bright side though, it looks like the snow stopped!”

               Audrie leaned her side against her front door and felt the cold immediately cut through her. For all she was concerned, her door was made of ice. She stared straight past Henry as he watched a smile spread across her face that he had only seen on one or two rare occasions.

               “What?” It was less of an inquiry, and more of a suspicious demand, but no matter how sternly he spoke she only shrugged a shoulder and hummed a wordless reply.

 “Daisy-girl,” she announced cheerfully, “baby get dressed and put on your coat and boots. Henry will need help digging his truck out of the snow before he can leave.”

“In a hurry to be rid of me so soon?”

He knew she was up to something, and he was sure it would be anything but productive to shoveling snow. In fact, he suspected that he would be the only one with a shovel at all, and if Daisy was being enlisted to help him, it would take the rest of the day to leave. Any other time he wouldn’t be opposed to the idea but knowing how many of his people were without power, heat, and a way to a warming station, he was in more of a hurry to leave and help those who needed it.

There was never a time he watched Audrie and Daisy together that he wasn’t impressed by the chaotic efficiency of their routines. He couldn’t tell if Audrie was dancing with Daisy, or wrestling her into her snowsuit, but it only took a few minutes of giggles and one tumble to the floor for the little princess of the Davis household was fully dressed and ready eager to go out into the snow.

Since Henry had not planned on staying with them and therefore had no clothes to change to dress that morning, it only took him a minute to slip his boots and coat on and grab his gloves from the kitchen table to be ready to venture out with Daisy. Audrie promised to join them in a few minutes, since Daisy was already whining about being too hot, and quickly ran to her room to change into her warmest clothes.

“You do not have a shovel,” Henry stated as she waded through the knee-deep snow to join them. Daisy had practically disappeared beside him while trying to make snow-angels. He noticed her bite the corner of her lip and look down toward Daisy, but it wasn’t her usual avoidance that he was so used to.

“I don’t have a lot of things, Henry. Especially, as we’re all _so_ aware of, necessary things I apparently need to survive Wyoming… like a snow shovel. But they have one at the park office for any of us to use. Or we can just make a million snow-angels and flatten the snow enough for you to leave.”

“Snow-angels,” he nodded and stood with his hands on his hips, looking toward the sky in thought for a moment. Without looking he wordlessly held out his hand to help Daisy up from her own frozen, heavenly silhouette. Audrie envied his strength, as it often took her both arms to heft Daisy anywhere. She missed the days when she could support her miniature ball of energy with one arm and couldn’t help but feel jealous that he was able to do that now.

“It will snow again tonight,” he announced slowly, nodding to himself as if to confirm his prediction.

“Are you sure?” she wasn’t happy to hear the news even in the slightest. Her little Honda was not at all cut out for the demands of her new climate.

“Yeah he’s sure! He did the magic!” Daisy still hung from his arm and looked up with nothing short of complete adoration, squinting against the bright winter sun.

“Indeed, I have, and the magic says that there will be more snow.” The corners of his mouth pulled into the slightest hint of a smile. He glanced down to see Daisy’s eyes nearly squinted closed as she searched the sky for whatever told Henry the weather.

Audrie playfully kicked some snow at her daughter and trudged her way to the park office to retrieve the shovel so that Henry’s truck could be freed from its snowy confines. She planned to trade off with Henry to dig out the truck and clear the road enough to leave the park. Her hope was that one of them would be able to entertain Daisy while the other worked.

When she returned with shovel in hand, she found that, evidently, it was Henry’s turn first to play with Daisy, as two snowballs flew from behind the cover of his aged green vehicle, one hitting her square in the face, the other making impact against her leg. The shots fired were the first of many to come.

 Audrie playfully surrendered to her attackers and got to work shoveling snow away from the truck but Henry prized the shovel from her. She shrugged and agreed that he should “do the man work” and tackled Daisy into the snow. His laughter readily joined theirs as their shrill squeals and giggles filled the air.  He had seen Audrie play with Daisy before, but never had he seen her so free. There was always a guarded, protective nature to their playtime. He realized as he watched them through their reflections off his driver’s window that this may have been the first time since their arrival that Audrie truly let her guard down and simply enjoyed the moment.

Of course, his musings were interrupted by a snowball as it splattered against the same window with a deep thud. “You missed,” he nodded without turning to face what he knew to be at least one, but more likely two more projectiles waiting to be thrown.

“Did not, I was aiming for your ugly truck!”

“She can hear you, and your words are hurtful.”

Audrie groaned and he suppressed a chuckle at the shocked gasp that escaped Daisy. Immediately the snowball she held fell to the ground and she looked up at her mother, bewildered. “His truck is magic too?! You gotta say sorry.”

It took well over an hour to be able to move the truck, but road conditions weren’t much better. The road crews had put in quite an effort to clear the snow, but the ice had yet to clear. Henry half suggested and half ordered Audrie to let him drive her and Daisy to one of the warming shelters that had been set up in town for the day. Audrie only agreed because she knew that Daisy would be miserable after playing in the snow without the heat and she wasn’t as confident as Henry when it came to the use of her oven as an emergency heater.

As usual, Audrie sat in the middle with her legs scrunched over to the passenger side so that Daisy could have a proper seatbelt, and as usual, Daisy was asleep within minutes of their departure.  Audrie had to admit, it was nice to be able to talk to Henry outside of work and without worrying about Daisy listening. The soft snoring that came from her crumpled huddle against the door was a reassurance of that.

“Thanks for being such a good sport today. Daisy hasn’t really gotten to play in snow like that before. It was nice.”

“Yes, it was.”

“You didn’t have to tell her your truck is magic, though.”

“And how are you so sure she is not?”

Audrie huffed a laugh and shook her head while turning her attention to her surroundings. The snow changed everything, and she fell in love with the landscape all over again. It was such a difference from the city life she was used to, and she got lost for the moment in all the differences, and situations she never imagined finding herself in, and sights she never thought she would see. Daisy asleep in the front of a pickup truck, driving through open countryside, was certainly not an expectation when she found out she was pregnant. Neither were shooting lessons, cowboy hats, nor the unexpected question of “Mommy, can I be in a rodeo when I grow up?”

“You are making that face again,”

Henry’s eyes were firmly focused on the road ahead of them when she looked back at him. He had a way of looking without looking that she and Walt often complained about in jest together. There was a lot about him that she had difficulty putting into words, but luckily the sheriff knew him well enough to know what she was trying to say whenever he came up in conversation. Often, it was situations like the one she found herself in driving down the frozen highway, where the incredibly direct, yet incredibly subtle and still somewhat vague nature of Henry Standing Bear both intrigued and irritated her.

_He’s a pain in the ass, but you’ll get used to it enough to miss him when he’s not around._

“What face,” she scoffed.

“The face that you make when you are thinking too hard about your life.”

“I’m not even thinking about my life, Henry.”

“You are not a good liar, but I will not make you talk about it.”

Audrie chewed on the inside of her cheek and leaned her head back against the seat behind her. She heaved a deep breath and closed her eyes and tried to imagine a time when she didn’t feel so much weight threatening to crush her to death. Maybe he was right, and she was overthinking. Maybe it was none of his damned business. Maybe he just felt bad for her and didn’t really care about her or Daisy. She couldn’t quite tell which opinion the winning argument was, and she didn’t have very long to think about it.

As they pulled to a stop she felt his arm slide across her lap suddenly. Her eyes shot open and found that he had Daisy by the shoulder and had caught her just before her head could hit the dash. Daisy, of course, hadn’t even stirred while he gently pushed her back into a proper position before continuing to drive as if nothing had happened.

Audrie remained quiet for the rest of their drive, visibly lost in thought until they arrived at the local high school. The gymnasium had been transformed into an emergency shelter once it had been announced that due to concern for workers’ safety, repairs to power lines would have to wait until after the forecast no longer called for heavy snow. There were cots for those who would be staying at the high school, a makeshift soup kitchen had been set up, and blankets, gloves, and coats were being provided by local churches while supplies lasted of course.

Daisy sleepily trudged through the snow, dragging Zi-Zi behind her while Audrie carried her activity bag a few steps behind her.  Henry stayed long enough to see that they found their way to one of the deputies on duty to be taken care of and bid a pleasant farewell before taking his leave to check on his family.

“So, uh, is that the bear I need to fight? If it is, I’m gonna need to lift some weights first.”

Audrie spun around and screamed an overjoyed greeting she and her favorite cousin suffocated each other in a long overdue hug. Audrie kept her face hidden from onlookers against Janet’s auburn waves as a fit of sobs took over. Everything she had held back had been shaken loose by the shock of finding her primary support system, in the flesh, in Wyoming.

“You’re good Dee, you’re good,” Janet assured while holding back her own tears, “I was gonna surprise you but the snow was really bad and I got puled over, and she said roads were too dangerous to make it all the way to your park so she got us here to hang out until we could make out.”

“We? Did you bring Danny and Sawyer? Are they here?”

Audrie immediately leaned away and started desperately searching the crowd for her nephews, overjoyed to see Daisy riding around on Danny’s shoulders while Zi-Zi was carried in the same fashion by Sawyer. The fifteen-year-old was a male copy of his mother, with a fluff of auburn waves bouncing around as he spun Daisy, holding onto her arms to keep her steady. Sawyer, however, maintained a slicked down blonde crew-cut, just like his father. Both boys were athletic and loved to play sports. Danny held an esteemed place on his school’s track team, while Sawyer planned to try out for the fourth-grade soccer team in the coming year.

“MOMMY! DANNY IS HERE! LOOK MOMMY IT’S DANNY! AND SAWYER! THEY CAME TO SEE ME!”

Daisy’s overexcited shrieking would have made Audrie laugh, if she hadn’t been so emotionally overwhelmed at the time. The best she could do was shout back, “I see,” and run to pull both nephews into the sort of hug that embarrasses most, if not all, strapping young men.

“This is the best thing that could ever… You don’t even know how happy… You three-”

“We love you too, Aunt Audrie,” Danny interrupted, ending the conversation until Daisy’s excited voice announced the arrival of another member to their little party.

“Hi Sheriff Walt! Look! This is my Aunt Jelly, and Danny and Sawyer! Look Sheriff Walt, this is my family!”

“Howdy.”

**Author's Note:**

> I've been away from the writing game for a long time, so please don't hold back your feedback! I'm crazy hard to offend ;)


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